Operation: Terry Bogard Must Die
by ThePaintedSkies
Summary: Young fighter Samantha Walker was assisted by the great Terry Bogard, but something about him makes her homicidal. While she's on her mission to execute him, she gets herself involved with the wrong person. Namely Ash Crimson. R&R is Love.
1. Prologue

Hey, welcome to my new, _simply fantastic _story: Operation: Terry Bogard Must Die. This story here is written as a humor. There will be some fighting, but over all, it's a silly, light hearted fic. Or I intended it to be. Seems like I have made changes and it became rather serious. This is based off King of Fighters- not Fatal Fury, so expect KoF characters to make their appearances.

I'm going to say this in the beginning. This is a story with an original character. I really don't care if anyone flames me, because I admit, this story is written mostly for self satisfaction: as in, if I could get the chance, I really would attempt to get Terry to SHUT. UP. Not because I hate him personally, no. I love his design, his characteristics are all right- but it's just one thing I'll never be able to stand in the Fatal Fury/KoF games…

His. Voice. His really annoying voice saying those really annoying catch phrases…

So let me not delay this further and get this story hit off.

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fatal Fury/King of Fighter, so that means I don't own Terry Bogard, Rock Howard or any of the peeps that are in here, except for my own original characters, namely the Walker family. I can only wish, because Omg. The character designs are GORGEOUS. But I digress. **

_Prologue: A Girl With a Mission. _

_**Terry Bogard's Residence: 10PM.**_

My charcoal orbs glared at the man with the lengthy blond hair meters away from the room I was currently in. I grit my teeth in annoyance as my head throbbed. The idiot had done it again. If I hadn't acted, this would become rather inconvenient and painful.

So now I declared myself as a girl with a mission.

How did I get myself stuck in this position? How did it even start? What the hell is even going on? I'll let you know. I'll inform you of why I've now decided to tread this path I now I have stepped in, without much of a choice.

_**Earlier in the Day- 8:30pm.**_

Great.

It was already a lovely enough day, having to earn my school dues by knocking some wannabe street thug flat in a street fight. The idiot caught a hit and my thigh was in slight pain- but I won that match along with a nice sum of money. But of course, luck was not in my favor this day. After I counted my winnings and turned to scurry off, I saw _her_ waiting there.

_Just Perfect. _My mom busted me fighting in the streets of South Town _yet again._ She's a prestigious fighter who owns some lame establishment where fighting and training is done in a respectable, organized manner- so of course she's completely against street fighting. The way matches were- some people doing whatever necessary to win, no matter the methods, and also wagering money to win. She always went on about how it wasn't a dignified form of fighting.

But what the hell else could I do? I had to save up for an assortment of payments for more leisurely activities at my stupid _prestigious_ private school.

Can you tell I hate things with a certain fancy air?

But more importantly- the reason I had to save up for these things was because she cut back entirely on my allowance. Not even sparing a single damn dime. The cheapskate. How much money did she earn running her damn place? A lot. She could swim in it. A matter of fact, wipe her rear clean after a crap and burn it.

None the less, as I mentioned, she's a cheapskate. Ended my earnings. Expected me- already 17 years old- to not need any money… As if. I opted to earn it by fighting for it in the streets. I was pretty good, if I do say so myself. Yeah, I have to give credit where it's due- it's in part to my lineage. My parents are both amazing fighters with skill in two different areas, so I was able to learn them both- learning to control my energy waves along with the wind. Of course, since my mother is the one with all the gears turnin' and has the better skill of the two (he has the energy while my mom has the wind), my dad's practically her bitch, but I digress. When it came to fighting in the streets, it's not like I did it often, but so far I have a one loss record. Some blond kid defeated me, although he was really against being pit against me in the first place. But ah well, I take my losses in stride. It's not like I didn't get creamed in the beginning and from time to time in my mom's establishment. That could be in part that since two years ago, I've always fought in one league higher than my own age allowed for so I could always stay strong and sharp. The perks of being the owners daughter.

Sorry, I'm side tracking again. What's so glorious about my mom catching me street fighting is that she caught me red handed for the 10th time… and before, she decided that if I my shenanigans had reached the double digits, it would be the last straw and she'd act on it.

So here I am, at my door step. "Ma, listen to me, please!" I yelled at her, my long, loosely tied raven pony tail swinging with my movements.

"Absolutely not." She held out a sky blue duffel bag towards me. Since it was gaping open, I could see the contents of it were my clothes.

I let out an irritated sigh. "You're not really doing this, are you? Look. I have things I have to pay for, and you're not giving me a red cent for it! Everything in school isn't exactly free. You do know that I have to pay for just about every single payment the school decides to make up?" One of my palms were rested against my forehead now. I could not believe this.

My mother's dark eyes flashed dangerously as she tossed my duffel bag at me. I recovered it quickly before it hit the floor, and that's when my mother took the opportunity to grab me by the hair. "Do you really enjoy the life of a street rat?!" She was yanking it. And her being such a fighter… it really hurt, to say the very least.

Against feeling pain that I had no proper grounds on receiving, I acted quickly and used a wave of wind to cut off the pony tail she hung onto. She fell back a little while I recovered myself, my hair now falling slightly below my chin. I'll have to adjust to it's length in due time. "It's not that I enjoy acting like a street rat behind your back… but the only means I can use to make a living here." I answered simply.

My mother stared at me indignantly, probably wondering what she should do. She threw my now chopped off hair onto the floor and spun me around, giving me a vicious kick right on the ass, causing me to stumble onto the floor. "If you choose to keep acting like that to make a living… if you want to continue acting like a street rat, have fun becoming one!"

The door was slammed before I could even respond or make a movement. I stared at the brick house before me before getting up, annoyed and giving the door a swift kick. I looked down at my knee. Some flesh was scraped off… I could see the meat and some blood bubbled to the surface. Letting out a heavy sigh and frowning, I started walking, taking to the streets…

Roaming the streets of South Town. At Night. Alone. Of course, that's when I heard a crackle and looked up, droplets hitting my head until they crashed from the heavens at a heavy force. Beautiful. All I need is some crazed pedophile to come along and my day is complete… I muttered a slur of colorful words as my school uniform started to dampen a bit. So stereo typical of the weather to go for such a grimy situation. This is something that should only happen in fiction. Not to an actual girl.

My thoughts were interrupted when, just as I suspected would happen, some burly man grabbed onto my wrist, trying to pull me. I resisted as much as I could, but I was growing weary. I didn't want to resort to violence just yet, since you know… we're face to face and he might draw a weapon if he saw me ready to act.

Out of absolutely no where (probably down the corner where anyone could see this happen if they were passing by the area), mid length blond locks whizzed by me and a man socked the guy attempting to apprehend me in the face. It caused the guy's grip to loosen and I fell to the floor on my bum. Annoyed, I looked up and saw the blond man obliterate the other man's face with swift hooks. I grumbled, thinking I could have saved myself the trouble and kicked the dweeb's ass- he seemed weak now that I watched the blond easily beat him stupid. If some pretty boy could do it, so could I.

I blinked and hissed when I realized I fell in a puddle and was now sopping wet as the assailant crashed against the asphalt floor.

"Hey…" The blond called out gently. He kneeled a bit and held out a hand to help me up. I observed it and noticed just how rough and callused it looked. When I took mine into it, I could _feel_ just how rough and callused it was. This man must have been training and fighting for quite some time. I let out a soft sigh as I gripped the handle of my duffel bag and picked it up off the floor. I then faced the man and quirked a brow as I realized he kept examining me, maybe for injuries. I finally recognized him from his blond hair and brown bomber jacket. This was the well-talked about Terry Bogard. No wonder he tore that man apart… I felt dizzy, trying to focus on his face, but everything already began swirling. I stumbled back and forth trying to keep balance.

Then came the moment that changed my life forever.

Nothing would ever be the same after this.

Terry's mouth moved, forming words. "Are you Okay?!" His accent was a heavy Brooklyn like one…the words almost sounding comical… I winced. I was able to immediately discern one thing…

I hated his voice.

But of course, I couldn't revel in this long, as my eyes rolled back and everything went black…

Or so I thought I couldn't revel it in long…

"Are…" Terry's face popped up in the darkness and disappeared.

"You…" His face did it again…

"Okay…?!" once more…

And then he appeared completely, numerous Terry's running about the darkness of my conscious. "Are you Okay?!" It echoed in a rhythmic manner. It reverberated in my mind painfully slowly. Echoed.

Echoed.

Echoed…

My eyes snapped open and from where I lay, I scanned the area. I was on the floor with some towels underneath me, in an unfamiliar apartment. I finally turned to face up and I met the azure irises of the perpetrator who invaded my conscious.

The man's voice was terrible enough to induce chilling nightmares.

"Hey, are you okay?!" Terry asked as he examined my face.

I winced in pain as the annoying voice, and now ever so annoying catch phrase invaded my ears.

His voice was enough to produce the sensation of physical pain. I'd have much rather had the wind knocked out of me with a painful punch than to hear it again. "Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine." I dismissed, sitting up and grumbling. "The weather got to me. So please…Stop. Asking." I emphasized so he would get the point.

"Alright, if you say so." Terry said, standing up. He looked at me for a moment, then finally questioned. "So kid, what's your name?"

I blinked a few times, then tucked some strands of my now shortened sable hair behind an ear. "It's Samantha. Samantha Walker."

Terry held out a hand to shake. "Nice to learn your name. It's-"

"Terry Bogard." I cut him off. "You got some pretty high rep in the streets."

Terry let out a laugh. "Familiar with the streets?"

I curved my lips into a smirk. "You could say that."

Terry's face morphed into an expression that seemed as if he remembered something. "Oh yeah, I could only find a shirt of my kid's long enough to cover you up. I know any of the pants or shorts I have would fall off, along with my shirts. You're pretty petite. The weather's really bad out now, so I don't recommended leaving. Also, if you stay in your wet clothes, you might catch a cold." he held a t-shirt within his grasp.

I gave him a dull stare. "It's fine, I have.." I looked towards my duffel bag and it was wide open, the contents soaking wet. That's right… when I was shoved out of my place, I never did get to closing my bag. Shiiit. I ripped the shirt out of hand and marched around, looking for a bathroom.

"My, my… violent, aren't we?" Terry chuckled lightly.

"You haven't seen violent yet…" I mused darkly as I slammed the door of the finally discovered bathroom.

After peeling off the wet garments and putting on the long red t-shirt (that thankfully reached up to mid thigh), I walked back outside to the living area. It was pretty simple. Dark brown couches with a red and brown rug on the floor. The television was an old school box one- maybe about 32" sitting on a dark brown entertainment set. The news was on, and it was talking about how the crime rate had dropped within the years. Uninterested in what the reporters were droning on about, I plopped myself on the couch and looked at what Terry was doing in the kitchen, which was a small ways away from the living area. Seemed that he was making some instant soup in the kitchen. He had a bag of some food from the burger joint sitting on the dining table, so I presumed it was for myself. No longer amused by watching him, I sprawled out on the couch and watched the images on the TV flicker by, not paying attention to any words in particular. After a while of sitting in a vegetated state, the front door crashed open and there was a thud, startling me and causing me to bolt upright.

"Oh God, Rookie, ARE YOU OKAY?!" Terry yelled. Quite loudly may I add.

I twitched, feeling a vein on my forehead throb. I rubbed my temples to calm my nerves.

The voice began echoing in my head again.

It was the damn third time he said that today. In the same annoying manner too.

It was then that I decided that the world should be done a favor.

That I would become a girl on a mission.

It was decided that the annoying voice should be purged… and that Terry Bogard must die.

_**End Prologue: A Girl On a Mission. **_

Now that that's over with, I start the actual story! Everything will immediately be dove into. As you probably noticed with the "are you okay?!", I'm going to play a lot with Terry's catch phrases, placing them in the most interesting places and interesting situations. Note that this story is in jest, but there will also be some serious moments- gotta have my balance. Well... a lot of serious moments. Whoops.

I'm sure it will be an interesting read. To those who do choose to continue to read this throughout the period of time I write it, hope you enjoy!


	2. The Man With Flames and The Evil Aura

Hey ladies and gents, welcome back to _Operation: Terry Bogard Must Die_. Since I fail at making things purely comical- this story is going to end up being pretty serious business, with a splash of comedy. It's about how Ms. Samantha Walker ends up at the wrong place at the wrong time, getting involved with all the wrong people. It will include many King of Fighters Characters now! Hope you enjoy if you're reading!

Alsooo I made a change. Sam is 17 now, rather than 16.

_Chapter 1: The Man With Flames and Evil Aura _

Even when panicking, this man sounds so utterly comical. There has to be something _terribly_ wrong with that. But that's my own opinion.

Anyway, learning that maturity was something I had to have during an emergency, I willed away the want to punch this man in the voice box and got up to assess the situation. Walking over to Terry, I looked towards where his gaze was averted to. There was a blond guy wearing a not so protective hoodie face down on the floor and breathing rather erratically. I sighed softly. It took everything in me to not respond sarcastically and say something along the lines of "If someone's kissing the floor because they collapsed, then most obviously they are NOT okay."- but I sucked in a breath while trying to process a different response. "Terry, take him further inside, where it's warmer and change his clothing. I'm positive the weather got to him."

"I'm worried that he might have sustained injuries fighting as well." Terry finally spoke. He grabbed the boy and turned him over to check for any damage most likely.

The boy looked familiar, though a little hard to tell. I moved in closer to examine his face- but when the guy forced his eyelids open, crimson eyes became visible. I jumped back in absolute shock- figures this guy would be Terry's kid. "You don't have to worry one bit about that guy. Nope, no way… certainly not _him_." I emphasized, pointing to the guy from where I was now sitting.

"Huh? You mean you've met my kid?" Terry questioned, turning to face me now.

Remembering how badly this guy creamed me, I frowned instinctively. "Well… you could say that…" Now I was extremely irritated. I was stuck in the apartment of a guy I wanted to kill, and now enters his kid- the guy who tarnished my victories. I'm sure Terry personally trained him- just another reason to clip the guy from existence. "Anyway. Not important, tend to him."

Terry nodded. "Rock, you okay?" He questioned the boy- this time only having a slight comical edge to it, mostly on the 'okay'. The boy nodded weakly.

I groaned while slapping a palm onto my forehead. "Is that the only thing you can ask?! I said 'tend to him', you half wit!" After rubbing my temples for a quick moment, I turned back to face the Rock. "Hey. Did you get in a fight or hurt yourself in any manner?" Rock shook his head. So he didn't. "See? Wasn't that easy Terry? Weather. Warm him up."

Terry picked up Rock and took him into one of the rooms I hadn't seen. The door was closed behind them. Guess the boy was changing. After a while, the door popped open. "Hey, Sam… C'mere…" Terry motioned for me to come towards where he was standing by the frame of the door.

Shrugging, I nonchalantly walked over to him. "I'm all ears. What do you need me for?"

"I have a job tonight. I was hired as a body guard. Do you mind… watching over Rock?" Terry questioned, face having a pleading expression.

My mouth moved faster than I could even think. "Sure." And promptly after my one word confirmation, I cursed myself mentally. What the hell was I saying?!

"Thanks! I owe you! I'll be here in the morning. See you Sam!" Terry threw his jacket on, waved, and practically flew out the door.

I blinked as I stopped to assess the situation. I didn't know either guy and here, they left me in the apartment to watch over one of them! This is ridiculous. What if they're killers?! More importantly, what if I was a psycho killer and tried to kill the guy in his weakened state for revenge! I let out a heavy sigh and decided to trust their judgment, as well as delude myself that they're good people, even if they weren't. But all in all- I added this as another reason to get Terry. Leaving me stuck with the boy who knocked my ass flat… That idiot.

I shook my head to focus on the task at hand and peaked inside the room to see Rock clutching his chest and breathing heavily. I went over to the soup and decided to pour it out for him instead. I placed the bowl on a tray and walked over the room, nudging the door open with my hip and offered the best smile I could manage to fake. "I brought you some soup. Please eat it, it may bring down your fever."

His crimson eyes darted up to me and he examined me for a moment. "…Your hair's different… but your voice and stature… aren't you the girl that I fought against last week? Why are you here?" Rock questioned.

I bristled. Too damn perceptive. "I had a run in with some thug in the streets and your pops knocked him flat. Promptly after, I blacked out and not knowing where I lived, he brought me here."

"Ahh…I see…" Rock looked down towards his hands. They seemed a bit shaky.

I walked towards him and laid the tray on his blanketed lap. "So your name's Rock? And you're Terry's kid? No wonder you destroyed me."

Rock offered a wry smile. "Terry was just nice enough to take me in after I tried attacking him this one time…" He seemed a bit embarrassed. Probably to be seen in such a weakened state.

I laughed softly, giving him a grin. "Terry's weird. Picking up kids from the street. I hope that's really not his thing."

Rock strained to let out a chuckle. "Nah. I don't think so. He just helps 'em out. Anyway… you are?"

"Samantha." I answered simply, leaning against the wall. "Samantha Walker."

I saw Rock's eyebrow tug up and mouth move, as if ready to talk, but he seemed to have settled with not saying anything at all. He went to eating, his hands extremely shaky. I could see the soup on the spoon ripple. His breathing was still pretty heavy.

"Hey. Give me your keys. I'm going to pick up some medicine for you." I said pretty plainly, looking for my boots.

"You really don't have to… it's pretty bad out there." Rock said, looking up at me with creased eye brows.

I shrugged. "Water never killed me. Now pass 'em. You're doing pretty crappy right now." I held out a hand, opening and closing them to signal him to pass them over.

After hesitating for a while, he reached towards his night stand and grabbed them, tossing them to me. I caught them with finesse. "Be careful, okay? It's pretty late."

"I'll be fine." I waved a hand limply while I made my way toward the door. I found my fanny pack and wore it under the T-Shirt I had. I opted to just go out wearing the T-Shirt. Might as well not mess up any more clothes. I grabbed one of the umbrellas by the door and fiddled with every key until I successfully locked the door and was on my way. It was dark as hell, but I made it to the corner store successfully. It's not so great that almost every corner of South Town is pretty seedy at night with wanna be gangs thinking they're all that. After placing the medicine and change in my bag, I walked briskly back to the apartment complex. It was quite a few blocks, and for my damned luck, I had to pass an ally way. While in the ally, I man roughly elbowed me, and I smashed against the wall pretty hard. "What the hell gives?!" I grabbed my now slightly bleeding elbow.

"Oh, great! A cutey! Now how about you give me all you got, and you show my that body of yours as well?" A rather buff man questioned.

I scoffed in disgust. "Get out of my sight. You're despicable."

The man grunted angrily and slapped me on my face. "You will do as I God-Damned tell you to, you little bitch!" He then seized my shoulders roughly, gripping them as tight as he probably could.

I sucked my lip to stop the bleeding and winced from pain. I thought about what I could possibly do. I wasn't going to allow myself to get raped by a meat head. I swung a foot back and kicked him where it hurts all guys. When he brought his head down slightly, I brought up my knee and got him right in the chin. That's when he let me go and I tried breaking for a run.

As I was in my frenzy, I turned around and the man was gaining on me. "You little Son-of-a-Bitch! Get back here so I can teach you a lesson!" He hollered.

I gulped as I continued straining myself. It was no use. It's over for me unless I manage to beat a man like that, which seemed pretty unlikely. I turned around once more and saw him reaching a hand for me. I shut my eyes tight and waited for the impact of his hand on my hair or shoulders or whatever, but it never came. Instead, I heard another male. "Man, you're pathetic. Going after young girls just because you can't get any?" It sound like a teenager. I spun around and saw a young guy before me. His blond hair was neatly styled, a red beret was placed neatly a top his head and he wore all red with black flames on the tips of his pant legs and sleeves. He was slender and his nails were neatly done, painted black with white flames.

"You little bastard! Who the hell do you think you are?!" The buff man spat to the slender boy.

The boy chuckled lightly. "Ash Crimson. Remember that name." Before I could even register what was going on, the man was already on the ground, defeated. Parts of his clothes were charred. The boy, Ash, held his hand out, green flames slowly dying out. "That guy was boring." Finally he turned to me. "I know you're much more of a fighter than that. Show people what you've got. Don't let them beat you like that. That guy was just plain old pathetic!"

I blinked a bit, then raised a suspicious brow. "What? How would you know?"

Ash shrugged. "I know a lot. Good luck with what you're trying to accomplish. _Adieu_, Ms. Walker. Until next time." Ash waved me off as he turned around, green flames covering him. I jumped back to avoid them, and when they settled, he was no longer there.

I remained stupefied and then shook my head. Who the hell is that guy? And how the hell did he even know my name?

Before I could even get out of my own thoughts and continue walking, someone grabbed me by the wrist roughly, spinning me around and then clutching my collar. When I finally opened my tightly shut eyes, I saw a man with fire-y red hair and eyes of the same color. "You saw a young blond man wearing red pass by here?!"

I nodded quickly. "J-just missed him…"

The man sucked his teeth and let me go. Because of how tall he was, I had stumbled when I touched the ground. "Did you see which way?"

I nodded and pointed straight ahead. "He headed that way I believe. But when he started walking away, he just vanished…"

The tall man nodded and began walking away.

The hell was his problem?

Not taking anything into account for the moment, I started walking back to Terry's place. I had Rock's medicine and it seemed like he really needed it. When I saw tall, lanky visage a bit away, I started to dash. Speak of the devil, Rock had gotten out. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Why are you outside?! You left the door open! And you're sick!"

"I… have a spare…" Rock's breathing wasn't any better, and I'm sure the rain wasn't helping. "You.. Took long so… I was worried…"

"I'm fine, see?! Now let's get you outta here…" I placed one of his arms around my shoulders so I could help him walk back.

…

When we got back, I promptly led him to his room and bed, drying off his head and face with a towel I found in the bath room. "Geeze man… you gave me a scare…" I let out a long sigh. "Take this and try to rest, alright?"

Rock nodded and took the aspirin I got for him, following it up with some water. I walked out of the room and picked up the burger joint bag, nibbling on the fries and devouring the burger. I laid back on the couch, still not listening to the voice on television. It remained on the whole time. After a while, a dim purple light caught my attention. I looked towards the TV, seeing that it wasn't coming from there. I turned around and saw the flashes of light coming from where Rock was. I sprung up and ran towards the room, seeing he emitting the light himself. He was breathing even harsher than before. Panicking, I ran up to him and reached arms for his shoulder. "Rock, you oka- SHIT!" I quickly retreated after I felt sharp pain shooting into me from touching him.

"My body is hot… my blood is boiling… I don't… I don't want this… it's… that man's fault… I don't want this… it's boiling… I can feel it…" Rock was chanting eerily.

Something really wasn't right. "Kid, listen! Snap out of it!" I yelled. This wasn't good. I had no idea how to solve this.

"The urge to… eliminate everyone… surfacing… it can't! That's not who I am!! STOP IT!!! I WON'T ACCEPT IT!!!!" The blond was screeching at the top of his lungs.

I bit my bottom lip to stop it from quivering. This is terrible. I could feel my energy draining just from being near by. Instinctively, I brought the boy into a hug, the energy being sucked right out of me. Slowly, Rock's yells were dying out and the energy went from a massive burst to barely anything at all. My eyelids were becoming heavy and next thing I knew, everything blacked out.

But before everything went dark, there was one thing I discerned. That aura… it felt like an evil aura…

…

Rock was enveloped in an aura… a purple haze… laughing maniacally… then there was Ash… the man with the flames… he had a smirk and held out a hand… then there was Terry…

"_ARE YOU OKAY, ROOKIE?!_"

My eyes shot open. Of course it was a night mare. It had to be… I shut my eyes almost immediately again, trying to will away my homicidal feelings. I stretched out my body, receiving satisfying snaps in different locations. That's when I heard soft… groaning? And movement right by me?

Actually, hold the damn phone. I was on a bed. When did I even lay on one? I was tucked under sheets- even more damn flabbergasting than the bed. I angrily shot my eyes open and there… was a sleeping, rather serene face next to mine. I observed it, prodding at the forehead. Then their own eyes lids slowly raised. My charcoal met their scarlet. Then I remembered what exactly I was doing the night before. Watching this guy. I bolted upright, rubbing the back of my head and laughing nervously.

Of course, Rock seeing that he was "in bed" with some girl in solely a T-Shirt… he practically screamed bloody murder.

I was so startled that I ended up rolling backwards off the bed. Cursing under my breath, I attempted to sit up, but the door swung open, hitting me behind the head. After seeing some stars, I see Terry in the room and I managed to throw him the best scowl I could muster for this time of day. Of course he'd be careless and drop his awareness behind the scenes. Stupid bastard.

"What's wrong, Rock?" Terry asked, walking up to the blond boy.

Rock looked like he was blushing. "I…I just over reacted… seeing a girl in the same bed in my T-shirt and all…"

"Oh, my bad Rookie!" I cringed. The word rookie was accented yet again. It's too damn early in the morning for that. "I put her there. I saw you both sprawled on the bed, and you both seemed so comfortable, I decided to tuck her in with you." Terry explained while laughing with abandon.

I stiffened, remembering Rock's trance like state last night, then put on a more irritated expression. "You do realize _she_ is right here, goldilocks…" My tone was venomous as I wobbled onto my feet, attempting to regain my senses as everything reeled.

"Oh! I'm sorry." Terry still had this grin. "I hope you don't mind that. I didn't figure Rock would wake up so startled."

"I really don't care- but what about him?" I questioned dully.

Terry and Rock exchanged glances. Terry gave him an apologetic look whilst the boy looked a bit embarrassed. "Well… he's rather shy when it comes to girls… he's not so used to 'em."

I wanted to kill this guy right. Now. "You my friend, are an absolute idiot." I pinched the bridge of my nose as I walked out. "Now if you don't mind, I'm gonna raid your fridge."

I went over to the kitchen and looked in the fridge. Enough food to make breakfast for the three of us. I started up two omelettes. While the eggs were cooking, I looked over to my bag and saw a mirror sticking out. A grin played it's way across my face and I grabbed the mirror, smashing it to small pieces and placing the pieces in the omelette. I placed the cheese on it and ham and closed it up, writing a T on it. I finished my own and Rock's and laid them on plates on the table.

Terry rushed out of the room. "I gotta talk to… someone. So I have to run! I'm sorry I can't enjoy your breakfast, but thank you!" He grabbed his coat and ran out the door.

_Foiled, dammit!_

Rock walked out of the room and reached the table, grabbing one of the plates. "How kind of you… thank you Ms. Walker."

I gave him a smile. "Call me Samantha, or Sam. Or whatever really. Formality makes me skin craw---" I stopped and my eyes widened when I realized he picked up Terry's booby trapped omelette. I swiftly grabbed the plate from his hand and threw the omelette right in the garbage.

"Hey! What the heck was that for?!" Rock questioned, looking at me rather funny.

"That one, I'm sure you wouldn't like…I made each omelette especially for each person! Take the one with your initial, silly!" I moved my hand in a wave like motion.

"You could have saved it for him in the fridge or something." Rock mentioned.

I looked away nervously. "These things taste nasty when you leave them out for too long."

Rock looked a little skeptical, then smiled. "Yeah, eggs and cheese aren't so great for left overs. Anyway, Terry will be back by the afternoon. Said he had to go and see the woman he works with. He wants you to stay until then. I'll pay back breakfast by making lunch, alright?"

I nodded, accepting his offer.

I also prayed that this boy wouldn't always get in the way for my plans. He's cool, so I have no vendetta against him. He can live.

But I'm adamant on the refusal of changing my mind concerning Terry. Terry Bogard Must Die.

_End Chapter 2_


	3. Just Like Home

Welcome back to Operation: Terry Bogard Must Die! As I said, from this chapter, you can definitely tell this story will be serious business- but some good srs business I believe! ...I hope. Hahaha. I'm going to make sure I go the limit and make surprises in this story- some surprises that I've already received positive feedback from those I revealed it to- so I hope you sit back, relax and enjoy as the story unfolds!

I know it's weird that I'm involving Rock and Terry with Ash, Kyo and Iori... but I'm sure no one will be disappointed. After all, I'm sure they all face each other in the King of Fighters Tournaments- one will take place here, but somewhat later on.

Anyway, let me not delay this further- hope you enjoy! This chapter is still pretty introductory~

_Chapter 2: Just Like Home_

"So..." I walked over to Rock in the kitchen. Finally in some clean clothes- a pair of jeans with the button purposely left open and a turtle neck tank top that allowed my belly button to peak out, I was comfortable. I squeezed my head through a small gap his arms left, resting my hands on his sides and snuck a look at what he was doing. "What'cha makin'?" I could see he was seasoning chicken.

Rock's entire body stiffened for a moment. I could feel the muscles on his abdomen tighten, then slowly loosen up as he looked down at me. His cheeks had a tinge of red on them. "Hey... Didn't I tell you to sit in the living room and stay there? I said you can't see what's for lunch!"

I mustered the best pout I could and Rock looked horrified. Seems like he just CAN'T deal with girls. He quickly looked away, so I just jabbed his back with a finger. "But that's boooring..." I whined.

Rock looked back at me, eyebrow tugging upwards and crimson eyes shining with the light pouring from the afternoon sun through the window. "If you're bored...Would you mind doing me a favor?"

"What'cha need?" I grinned, slipping out from his side and standing face to face with him. Doing anything beat sitting around the living room idly.

"Could you run out and pick up some groceries? I'll give you a list if you will..." Rock hesitantly questioned me. "It's okay if you choose not to... You got that bruise when you went outside yesterday for the asprin...right?" He motioned towards my elbow.

I blinked then looked down and saw the damage the meat head caused last night. He noticed the bruise was new, even though he was unwell... My mom wouldn't notice if I was beaten to a bloody pulp... There was a sting in my eyes and I fought back the weird, sudden urge to cry. "Nah, I'm good. I just fell. Slipped and crashed into a brick wall! Silly me, right? I got it, I'll go!"

Rock gave me a small smile. "Alright, thanks. Be careful out there, alright?" He wrote out a list and held it out to me.

I grinned and gave him a thumbs up. "Of course!" I took the list and money, then started walking towards the door before I turned around. "Oh, yeah, and glad you're okay."

Rock gave me a nod and I was on my way...

...

"From here...I need to turn the corner..." I muttered to myself as I rounded a busy street corner. all seemed to be going well until some punk tore off my fanny pack. Quickly, I pushed myself forward with a gust of wind and took to the air, coming down quickly- my sneaker coming into contact with his face. The man recovered his balance, his short, navy blue hair swaying as he tried to swing for me.

_Show them what you've got_...

I dodged his flurry of punches and kicks with finesse, parrying the last shot and getting a showy black flip-kick. While the man fell back to crash onto the ground, I kicked his gut with all the strength I could muster, causing the man to bounce when his body slammed onto the concrete. I swiftly grabbed onto my fanny pack as I back flipped off him and landed softly on the ground. Barely moments after that, I heard yelling behind me and I pivoted on a foot to see what the deal was- a man extending a hand to deal a blow to me was partially engulfed in flames. I looked on in awe as the man ran away.

"Hey... you okay there? He didn't hurt you anywhere, right?" A masculine voice questioned me. I looked towards the voice and there I saw him. Short dark brown hair and brown eyes. Japanese. Black leather jacket and fighting gloves with the gold ring of fire.

The sun.

My eyelashes fluttered as I blinked, observing the man before me with my sable eyes.

"Um... Miss?"

"Ah!" I bristled as I realized I was just staring. "Y-Yes! I'm okay!"

"That was some pretty sweet moves you had going there." The brun headed hero said as he placed a hand in his jacket pocket.

I let out a large smile. "T-thank you!" It took me a moment to consider what to say. I finally took in a deep breath and decided to take a gamble. "Um... Thank you for saving me as well... K-Kyo K-K-Kusanagi... right?"

The man blinked, then let out a charming chuckle. "That's right. Have we met before?"

I shook my head quickly. "N-No... I've seen the KoF tournaments... And you're my hero... when it comes to fighting... er... Mister Kusanagi..."

Kyo gave me a gentle smile. "Flattering... Anyway, I've got important business to attend to so..." Kyo dug in his pockets and produced a flip phone that shot open. "I want to see you in action some time. Let's exchange numbers, alright? I'm staying in a near by friend's place with my girlfriend for the time be. If you're free in three days, we can have a day of sparring. What do you say?"

My eyes widened as did the smile over taking me face. "Of course! I'd love that!"

....

"I've killed too much time! Rock will probably get all worried some loser attacked me or something..." I mused to no one in particular as I dashed into the super market. I quickly eased through the isles, picking up what I needed.

After effortlessly doing so, I hit a problem. I stared at the multitudes of brand orange juices. I had no idea which one to get. After a while of having a stare off with the inanimate cartons, a red sleeve reached over me and grabbed one. "I recommend this one..." a familiar manly voice called out.

I looked up to see Ash Crimson grinning at me from above. "O-oh... it's you from the ally..."

"Hey, _Mademoiselle_ Walker." Ash greeted me with a salute with his free hand.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned the silver haired lad, scratching my head while quirking a brow. "Also, how do you even know my name?"

"The Walker family is pretty well known." Ash answered simply, shrugging his shoulders. "And I happened to have seen the commotion that happened outside. I was..." he crossed his arms, his leather jacket letting out a squeak as he did so and he leaned forward to observe my face. "...Worried."

I blinked. "Oh... No need to be. You do know I'm a Walker and like you said, you knew I can handle myself...right?"

Ash chuckled lightly. "But of course I knew. You have to remember though, you're a _girl_. You can't over do it, you're not some super hero you know~" He shook an index finger for emphasis.

I fought down the urge to blush. "Yeah, yeah, I know... but I'm okay... My fighting hero actually helped me, so I'm fine..." I felt a smile creep onto my face.

"Your fighting hero, huh?" Ash had a sneaky smile on his face as he flipped back his bangs. "Who would that be?" His sky blue eyes were filled with inquisition.

I grinned, absolutely elated, remembering my exchange with the flame wielding man who saved my life. "It's Kyo. Kyo Kusanagi. I absolutely admire him!"

Ash let out a chuckle, amusement apparent in his expression. "Ah... Kusanagi... He's quite the fighter. I must say... I... admire his skills as well..."

My smile brightened. "Mhm! He's just that awesome! He even said he'd give me a day of sparring! Ah, also, It's always nice running into another Kyo fan!"

"...Yeah..." Ash looked away, the smirk on his face looking almost...sinister. I shrugged it off, thinking he was just overly amused. "I'm sure you'll have fun facing him, as he will you, hopefully."

I nodded my head vehemently. "Yes!"

"Anyway..." Ash looked back at me, scrutinizing me up and down. I felt my face flush. "We'll have to work on your appearance. Maybe teach you a skill as well." Ash draped an arm around my shoulders. "What do you say? You're a pretty girl, but you think this appearance will win over Kyo? It's a little too... boyish."

I pressed my lips into a fine line. "Kyo has a girlfriend. Besides, I'm..." Hesitation. "...not too worried about that." I escaped from under his arms and tried to give him a convincing look.

Ash let out a charming laugh. "So says you. That pause tells it all." Ash gave my nose a press with an index finger. His nails were beautifully done. I squinted and let out a squeak as he did that. "Meet me at Tous Ensemble Bakery in two days. I'll give you more information through text about time and such- have a phone, right?"

I quirked a brow. "My cell? But I just met you... well... was properly aquatinted to you only today..."

"Don't worry about it, we're friends, right?" Ash gave me a sweet smile.

As much as I would have wanted to be cautious, I couldn't. "Right, that we are!" I pulled out my sidekick and got ready to exchange numbers.

Two friends in one day, it seems. Could it get any better?...

...

I ran back to Terry's place- not only because I was brimming with excitement, also because I realized just how stupidly late I was in terms of bringing back the groceries. I swiftly dashed up the stairs, a gust pushing me forward, so my feet barely touched the stairs as I ascended. I hit the 2nd floor and skipped towards the door, giving it a small set of three kicks. I heard quick tapping- someone most likely running to the door. The door swung open and Rock became visible. "Yo."

Rock's eyebrows narrowed. "'Yo'? Who are you saying that to?! You took so long, you had me absolutely worried! It's still not entirely safe, so I think you're endangered out there, alright?!" He let out a quick, exasperated sigh. "You're not hurt or anything are you? Did anything happen?"

I gave Rock a small smile. "Only good things. I met some friends." I squeezed past him through the small space he left as I started making my way to the kitchen.

"Oh?" He returned the smile. "Is that so? Well, remember to be careful, since you are trusting them kind of quickly..."

I turned around and shot Rock a cheeky grin. "Same applies to you, big man. You trusted me to take care of you while you were ailing. A girl you beat before, and may have wanted revenge no less."

"H-Hey... I felt I could trust you, alright?" Rock closed the door and caught up to me. He started ruffling his own hair. "Don't make my new roommate situation any weirder than it already is..."

"Roommate situation? You gettin' a roomie?" I looked at Rock now, his Crimson eyes diverted away from my own dark eyes. "And weird at that? What happened? She a girl?"

Rock shook his head. "As much as she may not seem it, she certainly is a chick."

"Oooh, harsh, eh?" I sneered. "Good luck with her, tiger. I can tell you work so well with the ladies, my--" I stopped abruptly when I saw Terry standing with his arms crossed, looking at me seriously. "What happened? What did I do when I wasn't even here? Were you worried too?"

"No, not at all." Terry quickly dismissed. Looks like someone believed in my competence for a change. "I had a talk with my new employer. Magdaline Walker." I bristled after hearing the name. "She had a few things to say about your current situation."

Of course when everything seemed to be going right, seems like my mother was about ready to ruin it. "...What...? Does she want me back? Is she willing to tolerate me being a "rat"?"

"No." Terry answered simply. He ran a hand through his golden locks. "She doesn't want you to go back. She says you two could never see eye to eye..."

A pained smile crept it's way onto my face. "Go figure. Of course she'd dump me into the streets... She doesn't even have time to notice I exist, unless it's because I'm doing something that could tarnish her reputation..."

Terry placed a hand on my shoulder. It was rough and heavy. "It's not because she doesn't care. She realizes she can't take care of you like a normal parent could."

"That new roommate of mine..." Rock interjected, scratching the tip of his nose with a finger. "She's you."

My eyes widened and I turned to the blond boy standing beside me. "I'm... what?"

"She's given me legal custody of you, Sam." Terry grinned.

As much as I originally wanted the man dead, I couldn't help but put that aside for this moment. My smile grew slowly but surely, and I threw myself at the older man, enveloping him into a hug. "Thank you so much for taking me in, not even knowing anything about me..." I bit my lip to hold back any tears.

I felt Terry pet my head, probably making a mess out of my hair. "Don't worry, sport. I have a feelin' having you around will really change things."

"Anyway you two, lets go and eat lunch already before it gets cold!" Rock lead us into the dinning room. I took a seat by the younger blond and the older one sat across from us. "Hope you enjoy."

I nodded and removed the plate from over my meal that was keeping it warm and my eyes widened. It was my absolute favorite dish... Parmesan Chicken. I carefully sliced a small piece and shoved it into my mouth. The taste was so familiar. So close to home.

Tasted just like mom's...

"Hey... you okay there?" I heard Rock question me. I hadn't realized I stopped moving momentarily. "You don't like it?" I looked up at him now. He jumped back when our gazes met. "A...are you okay?" Rock looked absolutely petrified. That's when I finally realized an onslaught of tears was pouring from my eyes. I didn't bother to wipe my them away, I just continued staring at the boy. "You... are you hurt...? What's wrong...?"

Terry chuckled lightly. "Don't worry about it, Rock. I'm sure every thing's alright."

Rock's face dropped- he was definitely confused. "B-but she's..."

"He's right. I'm okay." I finally lifted my hand to wipe the liquid from my face. I mustered the best smile I could. "And don't worry- I absolutely _love_ it..."

From then on, my life would be like nothing before, I could feel it... And I was ready for it.

**_End Chapter 2- Just Like Home._**


	4. Mon Ami

Hey, hey! Welcome back to "Operation: Terry Bogard Must Die"!- it seems that getting the proper tone I wanted for this was a tad more difficult than I thought. I had to cut down a lot of the training and pointless brawling, but I think I've found a track I'm satisfied with. Just have to polish it up a bit and I think I'm good~ Without further ado, I present to you Chapter 3! If you do read, a review would be nice so I can know what you think~ I accept any words, be it a flame, constructive crit, bad, good- I like knowing people's thoughts on it.

Thanks muches to sokkergurl for the reviews!

_**DISCLAIMER: As expected, I don't own SNK Playmore, Fatal Fury, King of Fighters, or their awesome characters- just Missy Sam Walker and any other random original characters that may appear in the event that I need someone and this story… as much as I wished I could be part of the design crew. God I love the art. All places or personal contact information in this story is purely fictional, and if it has any resemblance to anything real, it's purely coincidental. Except for the Bakery, the places used in South Town are the ones used by SNK Playmore and is not my creativity(or lack thereof- I'm sorry, but those names are just bad) and do not belong to me. Same with converse, Sidekick/Danger Inc., and any other brand names- not mine. **_

_Chapter 3- Mon Ami_

_**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**_

One thing that was certainly different from living back at home and living with Terry and Rock is that back home, I had my own room- so that implied on vacation, my alarm would be off and I'd sleep in. If it's one thing I loved, that's my sleep so I'd get nice heavy dosages of it if I could.

_**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**_

But that wasn't happening here. Rock set up the alarm in the morning for whichever one of us would make breakfast that day. Today was his turn. After breakfast, the two guys would warm up a bit and spar a little. I'd either watch or just exercise a little back in the room. I doubt I was ready to face either male.

_**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**_

Anyway, back to this infernal racket…I groaned and gripped my head, being annoyed by the sharp sound Rock's alarm clock produced. The boy finally slammed down on it, shutting the thing off.

The two of us were to share rooms, but my mother spared me a twin sized bed so neither of us would have to sleep on the floor or the couch in the living room (leather sofa's are never nice to sleep on).

I wrestled with my eyes to open them and looked on towards Rock, who rummaged around for some pants to get out of his shorts. Finally clutching them, he looked towards me- who was still sprawled out on the bed. Hell if I was moving anytime soon. "I'm going to go and make breakfast so-" The boy's crimson eyes widened and I could see his face quickly coloring. I quirked my eyebrow at him as he looked like he was trying to find his words again. "Um.. Well… INTENMINUTESIT'LLBEDONETHAT'SALL." Rock quickly blurted out before slipping through the door with fast finesse.

I sat up, staring at the now empty doorway, wondering what on Earth was Rock's deal. After a few moments, I finally regained my senses and realized there was a chill in the room… which should be highly unlikely considering that I was covered with a quilt. I sighed and looked towards the floor- where I saw said quilt in a crumpled heap. It took me a few moments to register what that would mean… I looked down and saw my pale thighs completely visible. I gulped and looked down at my abdomen… where I saw my belly button was showing. The night gown I went to bed with was hiked up, right below my bust. Obviously it was alright for me to go to bed like that when I was in a room by myself since I toss and turn a LOT in my sleep- but I didn't think about that though now I was sharing a room with a guy. "SHIT!" I swore loud enough for probably everyone to hear and hopped out of bed, fixing up the night gown as I made my way to the kitchen. "Hey!"

Rock turned around looked at me for a brief moment before zipping his head back to the pancake batter he was mixing. He was extremely focused on it.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance and ran a hand through my hair. "Look man, I didn't realize that would happen. I'm sorry, you probably saw more than you'd ever desire to."

Rock looked back, raised an eyebrow , then turned back around to mix that damned batter again. There was a long pause. "If you're really expecting me to respond to that, I don't really think I can."

I pressed my lips in a fine line. "At least accept my apology?"

"Alright." Rock's hair swayed as he nodded his head. "It's fine."

My eyes followed suit with my lips and they narrowed as I furrowed my brows. "Doesn't seem like it Tell me that without looking at that damn mush like it's the most interesting thing in the world and face me."

Rock let out a sigh. "I'm serious. It's fine, there's no need to."

A strangled sound escaped from my throat- exasperation now apparent with these futile efforts. I held my hair back and forced head in front of the bowl he was working with. "It doesn't seem like it!"

"I said it is!" Rock said while trying to move the bowl away and turn away completely. His face still had a red tint to it and he looked uncomfortable.

"…" I slowly moved away and stared at the boy, trying to keep from snickering. "Alright, alright, I believe you."

"What's going on you two?" Terry questioned, moving towards us. "I heard you both getting a little loud with each other, I hope nothing's wrong."

I thought for a brief moment, tempted to tease the young bashful blond. "Pops! Rock here is seeing me in a non-sisterly way… I wasn't sure how to react…" I said while feigning innocence.

Terry let out a hearty laugh and Rock looked mortified. "Listen here, Sam…" Terry said as he put an arm around my shoulders. "I'm sure you're already aware but… A young boy's mind is fragile… so go put on more clothes before you fill Rock's head with more dirty thoughts, okay? You know these teen boys and their libido!" with that he tapped me into the direction of the room.

Rock's face paled while mine contorted. "Christ, Terry!" Rock threw the man a handful of batter that landed right on his face. "Stop being such a jerk and get ready for work you damn letch!"

"What? Go ahead and say I'm wrong." Terry smirked.

"I don't see why girls like you at all, you stupid pervert!" Rock grunted while concentrating on the batter again.

"Easy, Rock my boy…" Terry made his way towards Rock and put an arm around his shoulder. "That's _exactly_ what women like." He whispered. The poor boy stiffened as Terry let out another round of laughter. "Man, some days you're just too fun to tease." With that, Terry vanished into his room.

I stayed grounded in place as the most awkward silence filled the room. I officially think I had enough sexual references to last me a life time now.

"_**THIS IS TRUE LOVIN WE MAKIN' THIS IS TRUE LOVE WE MAKIN' THIS TRUE LOVE WE MAKIN' ALL THE TIME…THIS IS TRUE LOVIN WE MAKIN' THIS IS TRUE LOVE WE MAKIN' THIS TRUE LOVE WE MAKIN' ALL THE TIME…"**_

Rock stiffened once more as the song echoed throughout the apartment. I suppressed a laugh as I ran to the room to get my phone. Whoever called me had _killer_ timing. I grabbed my phone and accepted the call, putting the cell to my ear. "Yo."

"_That's quite an interesting way to answer the phone, Mademoiselle Walker~" _The voice on the phone cooed.

I laughed a little, a small smile now on my face. "Hey Ash. Thought you were planning on canning on our meeting since you didn't send me the text yesterday." I was looking around the room now for something to wear.

"_Canceling? Why would I go and do that?" _Ash questioned while chuckling. "_I figured a call would be better. Will you be able to get out today?"_

"Yeah, just need to finish my breakfast and do the dishes, then I can bounce." I answered while grabbing a pair of shorts.

"_Great. Remember, Tous Ensemble Bakery. I'll see you there around 2, alright?"_

"Of course. See you there!" I chirped as I grabbed onto a shirt now.

"_Looking forward to that. Adieu~" _

With that, I hung up the phone and slipped into a navy blue shirt with a light blue hoodie attached to it, the short sleeves and lining for the zipper both also light blue and the shirt stopping right under the bust, along with a navy blue pair of shorts and pair of navy converse. Simple and comfortable. I sauntered on out to the living room area- Terry was sitting in a chair reading the news paper and Rock was serving breakfast. "Great, and I was starting to get hungry." I grinned and dashed to my seat.

Terry looked over at me and snickered before looking back at his paper.

"Care to share your thoughts, Blondie?" I glowered at the older man.

"I tell you to put on clothes and you come back with even less. Trying to impress someone?" Terry quipped.

I leaned on the table with my elbow, my chin resting on my palm while my glare remained fixed on Terry. "The only thing that'll be impressive is how painful it'll be when my foot comes in contact with your face."

"As if that'll happen." Terry laughed as he set down the paper and readied himself to eat.

"Just you wait…" I muttered while fixing myself. "Thanks for the food." I nodded at Rock- he replied with a nod in return. The three of us ate in silence- breakfast being 2 pancakes, home fries and scrambled eggs. After getting annoyed at the atmosphere, I decided to end the silence. "So… where the hell is Tous Ensemble Bakery?"

Terry raised an eyebrow. "That Frenchie bakery? That's in Central City, quite a ways away. Why do you ask?"

I let out a heavy sigh as I dropped my fork onto the empty plate. "You're _joking…_"

"Got some business there?" Terry questioned me.

I nodded my head. "Yeah. Gotta meet with a friend there today. I have no problem going there- returning is the annoying thing."

"I can pick you up." Rock said as he grabbed onto my empty plate to bring it to the kitchen. "Just leave me your phone number."

I grabbed the plate from his grasp and picked up his and Terry, stacking them on one another. "Get your cell. I'll give it to you while I wash the dishes."

Rock nodded and disappeared into our room, quickly reappearing with a Blackberry Bold in hand. "So your number?"

I finally stopped staring at his ridiculously expensive, high tech phone and got to lathering up the plates. "It's 646-555-9812."

"Alright." With that, Rock sent me a quick text so I could get his number. My phone chimed as the message was received. "Send me a heads up an hour before you're going to leave since it'll take some time for me to get there, okay?" Rock said, awaiting my affirmation.

"Gotcha." I placed the dishes in the rack to dry off and went to the room to grab some of cash and shoved it into my pocket. "I'll see you guys later!"

…

I pulled my Sidekick out of my pocket and checked the time- five minutes till 2. I dashed up the street, dodging people as I ran by them. I hopped on the top of a fire hydrant and flipped over a group of people, landing in front of the said bakery I was rushing to. I checked the time once more- two minutes left. I grinned, satisfied that I was on time.

There was applaud behind me and I whirled around to see Ash, clapping. "Nice display there. Anyway, let's go inside and get something to snack on." He nudged the door open, giving me space to slip in, then followed me inside. I was stunned by all the beautiful pastries and had no idea where to even begin. Ash chuckled and moved towards the register. "I'll decide for you, you can trust my taste." He faced the woman in the register now. "I'll have two slices of Napoleon cake, two raspberry tarts and the blueberry crepes."

"Right away sir." The woman nodded and stepped towards the fresh baked goods, picking them out. They looked gorgeous. She placed our treats on a tray and handed it to Ash, him paying for it. "Enjoy."

"Hey, we were supposed to split the bill…" I whined.

Ash shook his head. "Not today. It'll be on the house for calling you out here."

I didn't want to accept the offer, but I had a feeling Ash was adamant on that. Odd that he'd want to build up a friendship so fast. The two of us took our seats and dug into our sweet pastries. As Ash informed me, they were absolutely delicious. We ate somewhat slowly, enjoying them. "By the way… some red head guy was looking for you in the ally…" I spoke finally, remembering that.

"Is that so?" Ash questioned. "A tall guy with red eyes?"

I nodded. "He seemed really frantic. Like he really needed to find you."

Ash placed the spoon in his mouth and chewed on a small piece of his cake. "Be careful around him. He's a pretty violent guy…"

"That goes without saying…" I mumbled. "Crazy guy grabbed me by the collar…"

"Hmm…" Ash nodded. It seemed like he was thinking for a second. "Just remember, avoid him if you see him again, okay?"

"Sure." I agreed. Not like I wanted to get close to him anyway. I just wondered what the beef between them was. Figuring it wasn't my business, I shrugged it off and went back to enjoying my tart.

When we finished, Ash brought the tray back up to the front. "_Merci beaucoup_." He smiled at the waitress, then waved her off. He turned back to me and made his way towards the door. "Now let's go. We're going to hit at least one store, get you one new set of clothing."

"Alright…" I nodded as I followed him out and he led the way through the crowded streets. We were at 5th avenue and 2nd street- the most busiest part of South Town. "Eh? Wah~!" I didn't have much time to notice what was going on- Ash grabbed my arm and pulled me into one of the stores. "Whoa… give a girl a warning next time…"

Ash laughed. "Now now, go and pick out something. I want to see what you'd get on your own."

I shrugged my shoulders and went into an isle of women's clothing. The bright colors and womanly fashion made me feel dizzy, so I zipped through it and picked out a simple pair of pants and light blue tank top.

"_WRONG._" Ash emphasized while shaking his head. "I want you to pick out something a girl would wear, not a girl cross-dressing as a man."

I frowned and stared at the clothes before me. "I… I don't exactly know what to grab." I muttered, full of uncertainty.

Ash now sighed. "C'mon. You don't know how to dress to impress a guy? Just look around you."

I turned around and there I saw girls hooking arms with guys, either in a short dress or a short skirt and skimpy shirt. I pressed my lips into a fine line before walking off into isles. I grabbed myself a short skirt and a ¾ sleeve shirt as well as a button down. "How about _now?_"

"Much better." Ash responded, taking me to the register.

After begrudgingly buying the clothes, the two of us grabbed some ice cream and walked towards the park. "Hey. Why are you helping me with my sense of fashion anyway?"

Ash blinked, looking like he was thinking for a second. "You're a pretty girl. Might as well help you show that."

I sighed. "Are you still convinced I have someone to impress?"

Ash snickered and gave me a playful nudge on the arm. "No, not at all. Do you really think I have any intentions behind that?"

"Yes." I answered bluntly.

Ash let out another laugh. "Don't be silly, _Ma Chère. _I mean nothing at all."

"Sure…" I muttered. After about a half hour of walking, the two of us finally reached East Island Park. There were plenty of attractions and even an Aquarium, but seems like visiting any of those wasn't in our agenda and we made our way into an open field that wasn't very occupied. "So, what are we doing here?"

"Simple…" Ash said at a hushed tone before lifting an arm and nearly socking me in the face.

"HOLY HELL! What's the deal?!" I yelled as I jumped to the side to dodge.

Ash continued to throw a flurry of punches, making me barely able to escape them. "You're going to face Kyo Kusanagi tomorrow- you have to be ready, right?" he questioned while ducking down, sweeping me.

"Shit…" I almost fell on the ground, but laid my hands out and flipped forward, over Ash. I pivoted on a foot, executing a round house kick. Ash caught it effortlessly and spun me around with my foot, getting a clean palm strike into my gut. I gasped for air as I fell onto my knees.

"C'mon _Mademoiselle _Walker, that's not nearly enough effort…" Ash lifted a finger and green sparks danced on it.

"Ah hell…" I scrambled onto my feet and jumped back, getting away form his flame. He spun the fire into a ball before shooting it at me. This is bad. I put my hands together and quickly pushed outwards, circulating a vicious gust of wind around me. The fire unraveled and spun around the current of wind. It got hot really fast, so I dispersed the wind as quickly as I could, the fire being pushed away with it. Before I could scope the area, Ash was already in front of me, readying another punch. I grit my teeth and bend over backwards, clamping his waist with my legs. As quickly and with as much power as I could, I flipped him over, him barely able to recover from the fall.

"Heh… so you're not all that bad- a little too slow for having wind abilities. You definitely need to hone that. But looks like I didn't make a wrong assumption when thinking you'd be a good fighter." Ash summarized after our short scuffle. Here… I'll teach you a move…" With that, green flames covered Ash's foot as he did a moon kick, the energy from it making my hair sway wildly. I looked on in awe. "That move would be a lot of help for you, considering you use the energy of wind. Try to focus your energy on your leg and not think about doing it right. Just focus your energy, feel the wind, then execute."

I took in a deep breath and followed what he said, the wind feeling much more natural- as if it were gently blowing around my leg. When I felt ready, I did my own somersault kick, the wind sharply releasing from my leg. I landed in a crouching position, shooting up and looking surprised at the finely cut gash I left in the dirt. "Whoa…"

"See? Wasn't so hard. Now I want you to get used to doing that, think of it as a way to practice on focusing your energy. It'll be good to use things like that against flames." Ash explained while leaning against a near by tree and crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'll get to it in one moment! I'm going to call my ride home, since it's getting kind of late and it'd take him a while to get here." I said, pulling out my phone. Ash just nodded.

…

"Is.. That… enough?" I could barely breathe. The sweat that blanketed my abdomen and forehead glistened with the street lights. I had been training for the past hour and ten minutes straight with not a moment to break and using my energy was taking a toll on me. I still wasn't trained quite well at doing that.

"For now, yes." Ash uncrossed his arms and walked up to me. "Didn't do a bad job. Rest well, and I'm sure you won't do so bad against Kyo. I know it's certain loss on your part if you challenge him, but show him you got some fire and that you'd be a good candidate to train." he mused.

I shrugged as my phone went off. I quickly picked up the cell from the floor and answered it. "Yo!"

"_What kind of way is that to answer the phone?" _Rock's voice questioned. "_Anyway, start heading to the front, I'm here to pick you up."_

"Okay, I'll be over there in a moment. See you!" I cheerfully responded and hung up the phone. "Well, my roomie is here to pick me up." I grabbed my shopping bag from the floor and turned to face Ash.

"I'll walk you to the front." Ash offered as he started walking ahead.

"Alright." I skip-stepped to catch up to him, grinning merrily. It was an interesting day indeed.

We walked in silence, since I was still trying to catch my breath and was still breathing a bit harshly. When we neared the front, Ash turned to me. "I'll get in touch with you soon so we can hang around again, alright?"

I nodded frantically. "I'll be looking forward to it!"

"This is where I'll leave you now." Ash said, turning in the opposite direction. "Until next time,_ Adieu_~" With that, he blew me a quick kiss, which sent sparks of green flames towards me, and he was covered in fire before disappearing again.

I blinked, a little lost. He was overly flamboyant, appearance and mannerisms- but he also had a bit of a manly feel to him- and most definitely mysterious. I smacked myself on the forehead, forgetting to ask him how old he was. Shrugging it off, I continued walking, looking for Rock. The streets were pretty empty, since it was already night fall and all I saw was a guy wearing a helmet and a nice black and red leather jacket near his pretty sweet Honda motorcycle. I frowned, thinking he was here already, but seems not. I continued zipping my head around, until I looked back and saw the guy with the helmet walking towards me. I started getting a little paranoid. I already had 2 bad encounters before, I could do without another one.

"What are you just standing there for?" The helmeted man asked. The voice was familiar.

"No way! Rock?!" I questioned, running up to the guy.

He removed his helmet, blond hair swinging wildly as he did so. "Yeah. What's got you so surprised?"

"I didn't picture you as the 'stud who rides motorcycles' type!" I proclaimed, still gaping.

Rock bristled a little. "Let's go… Terry's waiting for us so we can eat dinner…"

I tilted my head a little in confusion. "No way… you guys waited for me?!"

"Yeah, now let's get a move on before it gets cold." He nodded in the direction for us to walk in as we made our way over to his bike, him putting on his helmet. He handed me a helmet from a storage compartment. "Put your bag in there and put this on."

I nodded and quickly did so. When I finished, he hopped on the bike and jumped on behind him, holding on to him tightly from behind. "This is so cool! Let's go!!" Rock shook his head before he started up the bike, the engine purring. We shot off pretty quickly and were on the road back home. "THIS IS SO AWESOME!!!" I yelled, holding a hand out.

"What are you doing?! Hold on with both hands!" Rock reprimanded me. I pouted and did so.

…

I was laying down in my bed, thinking about how this day had gone. It was an interesting start off with Terry and Rock, then an amazing afternoon with Ash and then ended with a quiet dinner with Terry and Rock. Terry was too busy reading the paper, and Rock was just being quiet. He seems to not talk much.

I mostly thought about Ash at the moment. How kind he was to help me train for tomorrow's sparring session with _the_ Kyo Kusanagi. Albeit the fact that he was being oddly nice, something felt a bit off kilter. I didn't really pay attention to little detail right now and turned around, hugging a pillow and looking at the alarm clock. It read 12:20am. I looked toward Rock's bed and he still wasn't in. I had a feeling what he was doing. Sighing, I stood up and made my way towards the living room. As I expected, he was there, laying down on the sofa. "Yo, space case. You can go to bed."

Rock faced me and looked hesitant, the light from the television screen making his eyes seem violet instead of the usual red. "It's okay."

I stifled a laugh. "Seriously, you can go to bed. Look, I'm wearing pants tonight." I pointed at the pale blue pajama pants I donned.

Rock looked at the pants, then looked at me briefly before getting up. "Alright, I'll go to bed."

"Good!" I grinned and ran into the room, diving into my own bed. "Good night, Rock!"

Rock switched off the light and the room became nearly pitch black, aside from the small amount of light pouring into the room through the window. I heard him go into his bed and under his own sheet. "Good night."

Hopefully things will continue in the way they have been going for 4 days I've been here.

I've never been happier.

_**End Chapter 3- Mon Ami**_

Since in KoF, Ash has a thing with saying random French words/phrases, I've been doing that here too. The chapter title is translated to "My Friend"- the friend being male. Ash's language, but for Sam's situation. Also, where Ash says "Ma Chère" - it's translated to My dear- as there is two ways to say this- the one Ash says is the friendly one. There's also "Ma chérie" which is the one with romantic intent. The rest of the French is a given- if not, I guess google a translation or something? Eheh…

I know Ash may seem a little OC to some, but I don't think he is. I think he'd act a little differently around people he's intrigued by. Of course he's playful and condescending the most, but if it's something in his hidden agenda, I think he'd think and act with certain tactics.

This chapter seemed very… eh… iffy on my part. It was hard to make Ash and Sam spend the day without dragging it on perpetually, so I basically jumped through things. In the next chapter, it's the day of sparring with Kyo.


	5. Sparring

Hey hey~ Welcome back to Operation: Terry Bogard Must Die. There's not much I have to say for this, so I'll just jump back to the story. Note that I fail at chapter names... eheh...

_**DISCLAIMER:**_** I've been doing this for every chapter, so ya'll know what I don't own. Disclaimed. :B  
**

_Chapter 4: Sparring.  
_

"What's going on?" My eyes darted around the area. There was no forms of light other than around my body. I could see myself, oddly enough. I bit my lip in panic as I felt a strong presence by me. The aura was suffocating. Slowly, the room was filled with a purple haze. The echoing of foot steps. "Who's there?!"

Before I could manage to see anything, a hand wrapped tightly around my neck, cutting off my breathing. I looked up in terror to see Rock, the one who was grasping my neck. I fought under his grip, trying to break free... trying to scream, but no sound escaping. After I felt the sensation of my consciousness starting to slip, Rock slowly disappeared, turning into flecks of violet tinged dust. I took a tumble to the ground, looking up as I saw a hand covered in black gloves and a red and black sleeve reach out to me. I reached my own hand and allowed the figure to pull me up, the figure becoming clear, from his soft azuline eyes to his cinerious colored hair. Ash Crimson. He smirked and held me close- and I felt like I was burning, the green flames encircling our bodies. My pupils dilated and my iris changed into a haematic color as Ash's body began to dissipate along with the gorgeous viridian flames. As I doubled over, harshly attempting to draw breath, another figure approached me. They held out a hand to me again, but this time I refused to accept it. It seemed as if I wanted to attack them.

But they didn't retreat. Didn't step forward either. Instead, light slowly made their physical features come into view. My mind tried to close out who it was.

Mid length blond hair. The usual cerulean eyes. And the ever so common phrase...

"Hey _Rookie_! _Are you Okay?!"_

My eyes shot open as I bolted upright. I was in a bed, covered in a blanket of sweat. After taking in a few breathers, I checked my surroundings. Rock was across the small room, laying in his own bed, breathing regular and sleeping soundly- and I was in my own bed, gripping the sheets for dear life.

A damn nightmare.

I let out a long sigh as I got out of bed and approached the alarm clock, shutting it off. What a damn way for my subconscious to remind me of my mission. To clip Terry of the face of the Earth. I had been enjoying myself far too much to remember this, but now I made sure to repeat it in my mind, as if chanting a prayer. Having that in mind, I prepared a simple breakfast. Nothing there was spiked with anything lethal, like my last failed attempt. This time, if the wrong person grabs it, I had no grounds for denying the food served- so instead, I managed to set a knife upright into Terry's chair and pushed all the chairs in. Strutting over to Terry's room, I gave it light tap on the door. "Breakfast is ready. Come out and eat."

"Right, right... thanks kid..." I could hear Terry call out from the room.

With that, I made my way over to Rock. I gave him a light nudge, but the boy didn't wake up. "Yo, Rock. C'mon and move, breakfast is ready." Rock groaned and his body stretched out as I waited for a response. Nothing. "Hey... I said get up..." I continued shaking the sleeping boy, who simply continued his writhing. "For the love of... Rock... Come on..."

"You can't leave us!" Rock called out, out of the complete and absolute blue, grabbing my wrist and pulling me close by, most of my body falling into the bed.

I was flabbergasted. "Uh... where the hell am I going?" I used my free hand to run it through my sable hair in confusion as I kneeled to examine the boy's face.

Rock's crimson eyes finally snapped open and the boy shot up right. His head would have collided with mine if I hadn't manage to swiftly move back- although it was a slight movement. Finally after his erratic breathing became normal again, he looked up at me. "Sam...?"

"Congratulations." I drawled. "Do you want a prize for identifying me?"

Rock was a bit taken a back at the proximity of our faces and quickly dropped my hand. "What the hell-"

"You tell me." I cut in, cocking an eyebrow at him. "You were more than likely dreaming- but what was with the 'You can't leave us' deal?" I questioned him as I removed my knee from where it was resting on his bed. The both of us remained in a thick silence before I shrugged and walked over to the doorway. "Right, not my business. Anyway, breakfast is finished and served."

Rock looked a bit surprised as his head turned quickly to the direction of the clock. It read 9 am. "Today was my turn, you could have let me wake up and take care of it..."

"You looked like you were enjoying your sleep, so I left you alone." I smiled slightly as I walked out the door. Rock soon followed out after. After I sat down, I looked across from where I was sitting- Terry's usual seat from what I gathered, and saw it... empty. Out of all the damned days, Terry decided to sit next to me on this one. That's when I realized it. Rock was about to take his seat, moving the chair back and readying to sit down. I quickly jumped up on my seat and bounded across the table. "NO! DON'T SIT! WATCH OUT!" With a the help of a slight gust of wind so I could move quicker, I wrapped my hands around the waist of the oblivious blond and tackled him to the ground.

"Now what the _heck_ was that for?!" Rock questioned, shifting under my body, which was probably pretty light for his stature.

"Thank God I was in time..." I exhaled as I sat on Rock's abdomen for a moment, trying to collect myself.

Terry stood up from his seat and looked over at the chair. "Whoa... _Rookie, _a knife fell into the seat you were about to sit on!" I cringed from his idiotic accent again then tried to compose myself. "If it wasn't for her, you'd either have the most embarrassing accident, or have died or something!" He walked over to us and knelt down, giving me pats on my back. "Thanks... for saving Rock. That means a lot to me."

I looked up at Terry and momentarily felt a pang of guilt. I quickly looked away. "It was nothing..."

"Nonsense." Rock cut me off. "It was plenty. Thanks... for getting me out of the way..."

I looked down towards him. He was facing in a different direction, maybe embarrassed because of that almost fatal accident. I jut my bottom lip forward, making a sort of pouting face. "You're welcome..."

"Now... I don't want to seem rude or anything but... you can get off of me now..." Rock said with a weird strain.

Finally, I had realized I had been sitting down on his stomach ever since I tackled him. I burst into laughter before quickly standing up and going back to my seat. "My bad, I had completely forgotten that I sat on you in the first place."

Rock rolled his eyes before taking a seat- sans murderous weapon. "Anyway... you're going out again today, right?"

"Sure am." I nodded while picking up my fork to start eating. The food was going get cold at this rate.

"Want me to pick you up when you're coming back?" Rock questioned.

I beamed. "That'd be great! Since this time it's timed, I'll text you the address later, I'll be leaving from there at 8."

"Alright, have fun with whatever you're doing." Rock give a wry smile.

"Sure!" I still had a grin on my face as I bounced from the kitchen into my room to change. I eyed a midriff t-shirt and some shorts and began approaching it, but stopped in my tracks when Ash came into mind. I turned to face the shopping bag from yesterday, then sighed and walked up to it, removing the contents from inside. My pale blue 3/4 shirt and... Ugh... _ice cream pink_ pleated _skirt_ and button down. I stared at it for some time, the three things I hate the most, combined into one. Overly feminine... skirt... _pink._ I sucked it up and slid into the clothes, brushing my hair with my fingers after it was all on. I slipped on some blue sneakers ( heel's ain't my thing, nor ever will be. I'm a fighter, not a trophy girl ) and sauntered to the mirror and took a look at myself. This was utterly embarrassing. I grabbed my keys, stuffed my change of clothes into a shoulder bag, opened the window, hopped into the fire escape and closed the window behind me. There was no way in hell I was going to let Rock and Terry see me now- especially after Terry's jokes from last night. I grabbed onto the railing and sprung off, slowing my fall with a gust of wind. Too bad I never really thought well when it comes to this wear, since the skirt was now flapping around my waist. I forgot that happens. I gave the few people around dirty looks- especially the guys who were ogling me, then I started running toward the place Kyo was staying at, pulling out my phone and sending Ash a text saying I was going now, and a text to Rock, sending him the address and letting him know I was gone.

Anxiousness started over taking me. This is it...

...

"_Do your best, Ma Chere!_" I read over the text Ash sent me for like... the umpteenth time within my walk here. I was nervous, to say the least and found comfort in Ash's encouraging, albeit short message. My eyes moved up to the door bell- the golden button becoming the most intimidating thing I've ever seen. I sucked in a breath as I reached an index finger and pressed it.

_DING DONG!!_

A few moments passed before the front door from this nicely sized house opened, Kyo coming into view. He was wearing a white tank top, blue jeans and socks, his forehead already slick with sweat. "Hey, Sam. Glad you could make it."

I quickly ducked down, bowing to the man. "The pleasure's all mine, Mr. Kusanagi!"

Kyo chuckled. "You can leave off the formality, you know."

"Then how come I always have to use it, Sensei?" A guy's voice could be heard. Slowly, he made his way near Kyo, and I could see he was a teen about my age. He had short brown, slightly spiky hair with a head band across his forehead, a t shirt and some slacks. His cheeks were pretty rosy, probably from the two already starting to spar.

"It's different for you, Shingo." Kyo quickly answered back.

"Ahhh..." Shingo nodded, looking at Kyo with admiration. He then turned to face me, looking at me closely, probably taking in my appearance. His face had a curious expression. "Sam, I'm guessing? Why'd you dress like that? It'll be hard to spar dressed like that..."

I quirked an eyebrow at the boy, then remembered Ash's original quip for this attire. I tried to give a look of indifference instead of smiling like a dork. "No reason..."

Kyo laughed. "Nah, I think I see why. Forgive Shingo, he knows nothing about girls. I'd say you're dressed to impress, and you did a great job at it."My face quickly colored.

Shingo narrowed his eyes. "Geeze, you're such a flirt. No wonder Yuki's always reprimanding you."

Kyo still had a grin on his face. "Don't hate, Shingo. It's not my fault you're so innocent."

I clutched the handle to my shoulder bag tighter. A compliment from my hero... the most amazing feeling ever! I'll have to thank Ash at some point. "Um... A-anyway... Show me to the nearest rest room so I can gear up and we can get started..."

"Sure thing." Kyo moved slightly so I could enter and closed the door behind me.

_Damn_ is his girlfriend lucky.

...

"Ready, Sam?" Kyo asked, him poised in his fighting stance across from me. We were in the backyard, which was mostly composed of bricks and concrete.

I sucked in a breath as I brought one hand in front of me and held the other at my waist. "As ready as I'll ever be..."

Kyo nodded and the two of us stared at each other, neither making any sudden movements aside from the slow rise and fall of our chests from breathing. Shingo raised a hand up. "Best of five hits- first person to hit their opponent three times wins. Grabbing an opponent and moving them away from you doesn't not count as a point for either person. Ready...." Shingo now brought his hand down. "Begin!"

Once the final word escaped Shingo's lips, Kyo and I lunged towards each other, both of us aiming for a punch to the abdomen. I stopped and hopped to the side, changing to a sweep, which Kyo dodged with ease by jumping into the air. He aimed a kick towards me and I went to my hands, rolling on the ground and out of the way. Sadly, this left my back open, and Kyo rolled behind me and gave me a swift kick right on the bum as I was getting up, causing me to fall forward.

"Kyo, One!" Shingo called out.

"Damn..." I muttered as I rubbed my back side, standing to my feet again. I took my stance again and grit my teeth. If I can't get a single hit on him, he'll deem me as unworthy. I used my wind to speed me up as I ran forward, aiming a fist at Kyo again. Although he barely had time to dodge, he did. I pivoted on a foot and tried to land a round house kick on him, but he merely ducked down and hit me with a palm strike on my back.

"Kyo, Two!" Shingo once again yelled.

"C'mon, Sam! Where's the fire?!" Kyo yelled, incidentally sparking flames from his hand. He was getting ready to shoot it towards me. Of course if I could use my wind, he could use his fire. _Shit._ This match now seemed like it was over before it started. He shot out the flames from his hand, a wall of flames approaching me.

I thought quickly, Ash coming back to mind. I remembered what he taught me yesterday, and how it could be useful against Kyo. I focused my attention to my wind and my legs, relaxed.. and did a somersault kick, causing a sickle of wind to slam against the flame, causing an opening in it, straight to Kyo. Kyo raised an arm and jumped back away from the wind- but was still caught as he stared blankly at a cut in his arm, a drip of scarlet liquid dribbling. While he was staring, I used a gust of wind to push me forward and kicked him right in the gut, causing him to stumble back. "I just put it out..." I answered his earlier statement with a smirk.

"Sam, Two!" Shingo announced.

The last hit...

Kyo dodged a flurry of my chops with finesse, as I dodged his punches with elegance. Kyo flipped away from one of my kicks and seemed to have taken a misstep, leaving his face open. I went to punch it, but he bent backwards, leaving me open, and his hand quickly reached for my chin. I squeezed my eyes shut tight, but felt only a small touch against the underside of my face. When I blinked and opened my eyes, I saw Kyo merely flicked me. "You lose." He grinned.

"Match goes to Kyo!" Shingo chirped.

"You got spunk, kid. What do you say a few more rounds, then some dinner? My girlfriend is coming home in about an hour and starting some... that's if you're okay with Japanese." Kyo explained.

My eyes widened and I smiled, a smile like a child would have wore after seeing an abundance of Christmas presents. "I'm alright with it all! Let's go!"

...

Around 7:45pm, Shingo, Kyo and I finally went to the dinning area to eat some dinner- All of us cleaned off in different clothes (they allowed me to clean off and change back into my... _mostly pink_ ensemble), but our hair still disheveled. Yuki, a woman with short brown hair and seemingly plain, but pretty- in otherwords Kyo's girlfriend, laughed as the three of us shuffled in. "You three couldn't fix your hair?"

"Forget that, Yuki. We're hungry!" Kyo whined.

"That's what you all get for prancing around for hours!" Yuki reprimanded him.

Kyo sucked his teeth. "You do know we have to be prepared this year, what with Iori being in the condition he is." He sat at a chair, our meals already served on a plate on the table.

"That's right... I invited Mr. Yagami tonight. He should be here any moment." Shingo mentioned.

My eyelashes fluttered as I blinked in confusion.

"Christ... next time give me a warning..." Kyo muttered. "That means we should get Sam out of here somewhat fast, in case he picks a fight..."

Shingo nodded.

Yuki simply sighed. "You don't mind having your food packed up so you can take it to go?" She asked, smiling softly.

I shook my head. "I don't mind at all. If I have to leave because of an emergency, I understand."

Yuki pet my head, smoothing my hair down. "Hopefully you can join us another time?"

I straightened up from the shock. "Y-you mean it...?"

"That's a good idea Yuki! How about I keep contacting you to keep up the training? If you really improve, we may need someone for an upcoming tournament." Kyo gave me a smirk.

I grinned and nodded vehemently while taking the container of food in my hand. "I'll wait for your buzz!" I said while skipping to the door way as Kyo led me out. He ruffled my hair and waved me off as I ran off, smoothing my hair back down after Yuki fixed it, and Kyo just messed it up. I brightened up as I saw Rock already waiting down the block on his motorcycle. "Rock!!" Rock perked up and removed his helmet, narrowing his eyes as he looked for me. I guess he figured I'd be all tomboyish, rather than dolled up. Since he wasn't expecting it, I jumped up and tackle-hugged him, still grinning like a maniac.

"What the- Sam?!" Rock questioned in disbelief, blushing a bit, probably because of our proximity. But I didn't care, I was happy.

"The one and only! Now c'mon! Let's go home!" I rushed him as he handed me my helmet and I put it on.

He smiled. "Glad you think of it as home already." He mounted the bike now.

I blinked, then shook off the sudden feeling of shyness and hopped on behind him, holding on to him tightly. "Glad ya'll accept me... I think!"

Rock laughed a little. "Sure we do." He revved up the engine, bringing the bike to life. We rode down the block slowly, a familiar visage coming into view. It was the red haired man from the ally walking into Kyo's place.

I now wondered if Kyo knew Ash as well and shrugged it off, the wind feeling refreshing. Here marks the end of another good day in my new life.


	6. Fake It!

Heeey, and welcome back to _Operation: Terry Bogard Must Die_! It took me forever and then some to update, but I finally did, wooooo! It finally goes back to an attempt at murdering Terry- this chapter is complete crack though, so I hope it's enjoyed! It's… well… I'm not sure if a certain character is OOC, since she… well… only appeared in one game and had minimal lines. So I kinda had free reign on her persona so I can make this chapter. Wooooo~ Also, it was inevitable. There's a lot of hinting (with bright spotlights practically) of Sam/Rock. With the basis of this chapter, it was inescapable. It kind of shows how she's melting into a nicer person at the very least… or rather… slowly losing her bi-polar attitude. Then again, I'm sure it's always been hinting at Sam/Rock. Ah well. Hope it's enjoyed none the less!

_**DISCLAIMER:**_** Yeah. I do this every chapter. You get the drill. I only own this story and Samantha Walker and various OCs that appear. Otherwise, everything else is DIS-claimed. :B **

_Chapter 5: Fake It!_

"Sam... no..." Terry whined. "_Don't do it_..."

"_Nothing_ you say will stop me..." I muttered darkly. "It's time…"

"Sam, please, no! Stop!" Terry cried out. "There's other ways Sam... you don't need to do this..."

"It's too late for me to turn back now..." I began chuckling, sounding sinister. "It's time for you to meet your maker, blondie!" I yelled out loud, standing to my feet.

"_NOOOOO_!" Terry shrieked as it all ended so quickly...

...

"Aw come on, did you have to use a _level 3 super special _on me? I mean, regular special attack, a level one or level two special, but jeeze! You didn't have to burn the pride!" Terry wailed as he chucked the Playstation 3 control to the side.

I laughed dryly. "Didn't I tell you I was going to show you no mercy for beating me the way you did in the last round?"

"This round totally didn't count!" Terry yelled, pointing at me. "You used Ken! Ken is totally broken! Next time, we're playing Tekken instead of Street Fighter!"

"Any game, any day. Anyway, you're just angry you got kicked around by Ken- you should be happy you lost against your look a like." I grinned devilishly. "To think you two share the same clothing colors and did the same thing to your hair, having it long and cutting it short like that.... I'd think you were trying to be just like him. To think, you idolize a _fictional_ character..."

Terry's face contorted. "I do _NOT _look up to some fictional wanna-be pretty boy!" He complained.

I simply laughed. "Oh? You _don't_? Coulda fooled me." I waved off his denial as I stood up. "I'm done whooping you for today, so I'm gonna go and start dinner." I chided as I grinned and swiftly walked into the kitchen.

"You just want to end it with your victory." Terry mumbled as he stood up and followed suit. "I had enough of playing anyway, my fingers were starting to burn."

I nodded. "Same here. It's why I decided to do something else. Don't want you winning me anymore." I opened the fridge and checked it contents- food starting to lack in quantity. Sighing, I shrugged, and decided I'd still go for it, provided all the right ingredients were here. "...Terry...?"

"What is it Sam? You looked like you were staring into space, and were completely hesitating on what you were going to say." Terry mused.

I bristled. "Um... well... I was wondering... what's Rock's favorite meal?" I finally managed to spill the words.

"Oh... Jambalaya- hold the sausage. Why..." Terry stopped as an odd grin began spreading on his face. "He also doesn't like people who are very arrogant and show off often. Oh, you do know his birthday is coming in 2 months too, right? I'm sure he must have told you his birthday, but just incase it's June 24th."

"Er... okay..." I shrugged at his additional data. "But I didn't really ask for his whole profile. What's the reason, Ter?"

"Well, you know, making his favorite dinner, seeing him all the time, anticipating his offer to pick you up... starting to hug him before bed... they all seem like indicators that you li-"

"Shut up and don't finish." I cut him off, narrowing my eyes.

"Aww, why not? You'd be a good choice for him. You'd force him to get over his aversion to-"

"I SAID _DON'T_ FINISH!" I yelled, feeling pretty flustered. I didn't really have friends, so no one ever teased me about liking a boy. It was so foreign to me... It was rather embarrassing.

"What's going on in here?" Rock asked as he entered the kitchen.

Terry smirked. Oh no... "Oh, nothing much... we were just talking about Sam's apparent fascination with-"

"FOOD. Oh how I love cooking it! And I was just talking about groceries and getting seasonal ones and all!" Rock seemed a little shocked on how I cut off Terry. I had to come up with something else, and quick. "And how the groceries were running low..."

"Oh, right." Rock snuck a peak into the fridge and looked like he was making a mental note of what was missing. I heaved a sigh, feeling glad I just swapped topics. I shot Terry a dirty look whilst he just snickered. "I'll go and pick up some groceries."

"Ah, good! I'll just run and take a shower for now, then I'll start dinner." I waved nervously.

"Oh, nice idea... I'll take a nice warm one myself afterwards." Terry mused.

"Alright, then see you guys later..." I muttered then dashed into the bed room to retrieve my clothes. Terry taking a shower while Rock was gone seemed like a golden opportunity to off the man...I plotted how I'd manage it while showering, the warm water cascading down my body. I figured I'd just hack at the man when he was in the shower. After a good while soaking, I turned the water off and got dressed. When I got out, I looked around, noting both bed room doors were closed. I shrugged and closed the door and made my way into the kitchen, starting on making the Jambalaya. After a while of cooking (finishing the meats and vegetables and adding in the rice), I noticed the sounds of the shower- someone was in it right now. I grabbed a cleaver and made my way to the bathroom, making sure to not waste the moment.

I was quiet on my feet, not making a single sound. My small fingers wrapped around the door knob and I slowly opened the bathroom door, not making even a squeak. I kept the cleaver at my back when I realized something was amiss with the sillouhette... It had shorter hair than Terry. I looked on at the hand turning the water off- it was too late to just escape... A hand grasped at the curtain, pulling it back, the steam escaping from the tub- revealing short blond hair, red eyes... but the things that grabbed my attention the most... a lean figure with nice muscles... water sliding down it... leading to a nicely built abdomen... going further below... to the...ARGGH! This wasn't Terry showering, no.... It was Rock. In the freaking buff. I froze completely, my brain hardly able to process a thought. Rock's eyes just stared at me, the boy unable to move himself. He moved his mouth, either unable to voice any words, or the blood in my head was pounding way too much for me to hear. The situation was bad enough, but to make matters worse, I felt something warm trickle onto my face from my nose. I hesitantly lifted a finger, touching the liquid, and felt my face my heat up when I looked at it... It was red... I had a bloody effin' nose. I looked back up quickly, tried to generate a response, noticed my sidekick in there and finally looked back to Rock, accidentally looking at his body again. "_Sorry_!" I managed to utter as I jumped back and used my wind to shut the door.

The earlier exchange with Terry did not help this situation... I could feel the heat brimming on my flushed face. I ran back into the kitchen, putting the cleaver back and continuing to cook. After a short while, I sighed and put my head down against my arm on the counter.

_'They all seem like indicators that you li...'_

_'You'd be the perfect choice for him...'_

"That boy... will be the death of me..." I continued working in silence for a while- that is until I heard footsteps enter the kitchen. I stiffened immediately and looked back, seeing Rock there. In practically an instant, I turned around in break-neck speed and stared at the food I was making intently, hiding the pain my neck was now in, thanks to whip lash.

For a while, it remained painfully pin-drop quiet. I know I was blushing, so I refused to turn around- until I could bear the awkward silence no longer. "Rock, I'm SO sorry that I walked in there! I was going to get my sidekick and I thought whoever was in the shower would take longer... please forgive me!" I quickly blurted while turning around, face probably still red.

"It's okay... you really... just startled me..." Rock said a little meekly, flipping his bangs back and looking away.

"Oh... so you're not mad that I just saw you completely-" Before I could finish, I heard the door. I panicked. "_IN A SISTERLY MANNER_! Are you not the best big brother ever?"

"What's going on? Why are you yelling, Sam?" Terry questioned me, quirking a brow.

"...Uh..." This is terrible. For one of the first times ever, I'm like a dear in the freakin' headlights.

"It's nothing much, Terry." Rock cut in. I let out a small sigh of relief. "She just saw me in a non-brotherly way."

I was mortified and remembered these lines. I couldn't help but to remember when I pulled this on Rock. I could see Rock had a small grin while I moved my mouth, trying to form words whilst no sound escaped.

Terry was cracking the hell up. This wasn't funny at all. He should have been dead! "You two are too much. Oh, by the way Rock, you have a visitor. Some girl."

Rock gave Terry a funny look while I looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. I composed myself pretty quickly thanks to the surprise. "You holdin' back on me? I didn't know you had a girl friend." I mused while crossing my arms. It would make sense though, the boy is quite the looker.

Terry grinned at me and mouthed the word "_Jealous_?"

I scowled at him, flipped my middle finger and mouthed, "_Go die_."

Rock passed us two quizzical looks before he just shrugged our shenanigans off. "If I did, I had no idea." He answered simply. "Terry, who the heck is it?"

"Some goth chick. Think her name's something like Ninon..." Terry answered, rubbing a finger under his chin.

Rock looked like he just died. "You brought her here?"

"She's right there..." Terry walked over to the door and opened it, revealing a blonde girl in Lolita clothing.

"Mr. Howard, yes? It's been a while. Since the last day in school..." The girl I presumed was Ninon said a little eerily.

"I know, Ms. Beart. Anyway, what brings you here?" Rock questioned, trying to maintain a poker face.

"I was going to ask if you were..." Ninon abruptly stopped when when she laid eyes on me. I kept a grumpy look on my face, uninterested in her impression of me. "Who's this here?"

Terry perked up and responded. "Oh, That's Samantha Walker. She's-"

"My girlfriend." Rock cut in as he pulled me closer by my waist.

Terry and I shot Rock funny looks. That is, until Terry grinned. "So you actually listened to what I--"

Rock signaled Terry to stop, which to my surprise, he actually did. I gave the two guys a look, mostly wondering what the hell Terry was going on about. That's when Ninon took the oppertunity to speak again. "Really? Does she live here?"

"Yes, She does." I answered irritably. I was getting annoyed at how she was asking for answers about me even with me being present. "Got any other questions?"

"My... living together although still teenagers... that surely does cause questioning to your chastity." Ninon answered dully, although smirking.

I could feel a vein throb. "I asked her to move in with me recently. We graduate soon, and our 18th birthdays are coming up... So I was intending to get... engaged soon."

Ninon looked irritated at that. Then she took a moment to think. "How about you two come with me for a double date? I'll pick up my date and come back." With that, Ninon walked out the door, not waiting for a rejection or confirmation from Rock and I.

With that, I peeled away from Rock's grasp, and gave him a funny look. He gave me an apologetic look. "S-sorry about that..."

"S'alright. I'd just like to know-" I stopped abruptly and looked to the side, seeing Terry looking at the both of us with a stupid grin. "_Please_ stop that."

"You see... Ninon has been pursuing me and... well... to be frank, she creeps me out. She's pretty scary." Rock began explaining. "So... I hope you don't mind... faking as my girlfriend. It's the first thing I could think of, I'm sorry..."

I remained quiet for a moment before I started laughing. "Look, look, it's all good with me. You've scratched m'back, I'll scratch yours. I'll play a convincing girlfriend during our "date"." I chided, adding air quotes on date. "So I'll go get ready,_ hun_. Ninon'll probably be back fast. She's totally just gonna force some poor sap to go with her."

Rock nodded and I turned off the already prepared food and headed to get dressed.

...

_Ding dong!_

I ducked my head out of the window to see Ninon clad in her loli dress with some poor guy. I ran out to the living room, clad in a blue... dress, hair pinned up.

"Whoa! You look... _pretty_!" Terry shouted while pointing a finger.

I flipped him off again. "Stuff it."

"And that's what makes you _really_ not cute." Terry laughed as he swigged a cup of Bourbon.

"Good, I prefer it that way. Rock! Ninny is here!" I called out, leaning on the arm rest of the sofa.

"So unlady-like." Terry mused as he snickered, pouring out another shot of Bourbon.

"Alright, let's go." Rock motioned at the door way.

"Aye." I saluted as I bounced back to my feet, snatching Terry's shot and downing it.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing, _minor_?" Terry scolded as I slammed the glass back on the table.

I gave him the best grin I could muster. "I'll need it. _Ciao_~" I gave him a peace sign as I skipped away and joined Rock.

...

"_Shingo_?" I questioned, gawking at the Japanese spiky haired brun.

"The one and only..." He sighed, his arm cautiously draped on the goth loli.

I pointed between him and Ninon while Ninon was re-greeting Rock, giving Shingo a sign of 'How the hell did you hook up with her?'. He returned my look with a distressed one- I shook my head. The poor kid was obviously dragged here. So he's the poor sap. Very unfortunate. Shingo didn't deserve it.

"I see you know my boyfriend…" Ninon chuckled.

"Do I ever." I mused. "We spar with the same teacher as of the moment… Anyway… Shingo... how long you two been datin'?"

"Oh, five mi-" Ninon nudged Shingo and gave him a murderous look while I kept from snorting. "Months. Five months."

"Aw, so you're a relatively new couple.... how...cute." I mused, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"How about you two? I haven't seen her around before, must be relatively soon." Ninon said, smirking, asking Rock while pointing at me. "Rushing these plans for engagement, aren't you both?"

Oh, so now it's _war_.... "Actually, we've been going out for 3 years- we've been keeping it under wraps. I'm sure you've heard of the Walker Fighting Institute. I'm their daughter- I had an image to keep. Of course we couldn't go in the open. But now that I've taken residence with him, I can do as I please." I had a cheeky grin plastered on my face while Ninon shot me a glare. If there's something living with my mom taught me, it's how to make shit up on the spot.

"Aww, that's pretty sweet!" Shingo said, clapping my hands with his. "I'm sure sensei would think that's awesome! He'd be happy for you! Sounds like it was really meant to be."

"Thanks, man." I smiled at him.

Ninon looked at Shingo strangely. It almost seemed as if there was electrical discharges swirling by her. "We should start heading out, let's go get something to eat. I'm a little hungry."

"Sure thing." I shrugged, reaching for Rock's hand. He nearly immediately jerked away, but I got a firm grip on his hand and nudged him. "What do you feel like?" Rock looked nervous, his face tinged red. The boy was so hopeless- I had to keep from snickering.

"I want to go to Tous Ensemble Bakery." Ninon said particularly flatly.

I had to will away the want to strangle her. She picked that on purpose. It's such a long walk away… "Oh, that bakery has such lovely tortes. I'm sure we'll all enjoy it~!" I merrily answered back, hiding my irritation.

"Great." Ninon said, beginning to lead the way with Shingo.

…

"For you, Ninon…" Shingo nervously handed a bouquet of flowers he got from a street vendor.

"Thank you. See, isn't Shingo a nice boy?" Ninon asked me, on the not-so off hand.

"Yeah, I know." I said simply. "Very nice. I noticed when he bought you that cotton candy, when he lifted you up to keep you from getting wet in a puddle, when he nearly got hit by that car for you, when he chased that biker for nearly hitting you and when he got you that parasol." Apparently, Shingo was being used to follow her every want and whim. What is this chick up to?

"Don't you like Shingo? He's one of those _sweet hearts. _You know, people in love do crazy things, and Shingo is a hit with it."

I get her now… she's was trying to dump Shingo on me to try and get Rock. I grinned. "Nah, crazy people do stupid things- it just gets crazier when they're in love." I gave Ninon a knowing look while she scowled at me. "And besides! I love Rock's subtlety a whole lot better." My grip on his hand tightened as I leaned my head on his shoulder. He slightly jumped. "It's a wonderful trait of his. Along with his bashful-ness."

Ninon unconsciously nodded. She shook her head after realizing it. "Ah, it seems I've lost my appetite. Why don't we drop you off at home, Shingo?"

Shingo raised a brow then decided to agree for the best. "Yeah… sensei might need me for some more training."

The four of us walked towards the place where Kyo was staying in silence. Shingo and Ninon were now at a distance- I'm guessing Ninon finally stopped the stupidity. After a while, we finally reached the door step- Shingo ringing the door bell.

_DING DONG!_

"Who is it?" Kyo's voice rang from a distance.

"It's me, Shingo! You'll never guess who's with me, Kyo-Sensei!" Shingo hollered back in response.

Kyo's footsteps could be heard. "I swear Shingo, if you brought Yagami…" The door swung open, revealing Kyo in a t-shirt and jeans and a very surprised face. "Whoa, Sam?"

My face lit up as I gave Kyo a hug. "Yeah! I ran into Shingo while up to some shenanigans! Um… do you… mind if I take a picture with you, and my friend Rock over there? I'd like to send it to a friend…"

Kyo smiled. "Sure thing. Shingo, do you mind?"

"Not at all!" Shingo merrily took my sidekick and snapped the photo for me, giving it back promptly afterwards.

"So what are you planning on doing?" Kyo questioned.

"I'm ready to head off home with Rock. Why do you ask?" I questioned brightly.

"I wanted to see if you were up for some sparring, but you're busy with your friend over there, so another time?" Kyo asked, raising a finger up.

A broke out into a full fledged smile. "How about tomorrow?"

"That sounds good. See you then." Kyo ruffled my hair while sending me off.

"Alright! Bye! See ya, Shing!" I waved frantically as Rock, Ninon and I started walking off.

"Well… that was interesting. To me, it kind of seems as if you are actually in love with _that_ man." Ninon mused.

I gave her a perplexed look, then guffawed. She just looked at me angrily. "Are you kidding? Then you can't read people, girl! I idolize that man, I don't love 'em. There's a distinct difference, and I can tell that." I grinned, grabbing Rock's hand and holding our conjoined hands up for Ninon to see. "This is more like it for me!"

Ninon looked like she was deep in thought for a moment. "So that's how it is… alright. Well, whatever. I'm just going to head off. See you idiots." she turned to walk away, but then stopped. "I forgot to tell you both… I feel a dark presence in you both. Good luck dealing with it."

The two of us just looked at the disappearing blonde in the distance, flabbergasted. At least I was. Rock looked a little like something hit close to home. I let go of his hand and examined his face. "You okay there, buddy?"

"…Ah… I'm alright… anyway, you're a good actress." Rock mused as he began walking.

I blinked, then started to walk to catch up. "Y'think so?"

"Yeah. You felt kind of out of your element." Rock stated simply.

Out of all the times to remember, all the stuff Terry said earlier started to pop in my head. "O-oh… yeah… well… it was… different. I never had to do anything like that."

"Oh…"

"…"

"…"

Just what the hell I needed. The two of us fell into a complete awkward silence. Dammit, Bogard. I hate you. The two of us continued walking back in the thick silence, until surprisingly, Rock broke it. "Hey. That thing you said earlier to Ninon… about the subtlety and how I'm… well, you know what you said. Were you being honest?"

"…" I looked at Rock for a moment finally, then grinned. "Yeah! You're like… the most adorable dude I've ever met."

"Now that's exaggerating!" Rock dismissed, waving his hands quickly, clearly exasperated. He looked away flustered.

But I'm sure I saw it there…

A smile.

I let a smile slip myself and sent Ash a picture message from today's outing, showing him me with Rock and Kyo.

…

"Oh geeze! That's right! The dinner I was making!" I ran into the kitchen, surprised to see everything warm. Terry must have warmed it up for me. I let a smile creep on my face again.

"What's wrong?" Rock questioned, walking towards me.

"Don't! Sit at the table and wait!" I shoved him back to the dinning area where he obediently sat. I served up two plates, one for myself and one for him. I put down his plate in front of his and began walking to my own seat. The look of surprise in his face made me feel accomplished.

"This… you took out the sausage too… My favorite…" Rock looked surprised. He finally let a smile slip.

"I take it you like?" I gave him a cheeky smile.

He picked up his spoon and tried it, his eyes widening. "It's… really good…"

"Great…" I felt relieved I did a good job.

"Awww, a romantic dinner after a wonderful day out on a date… I see my love birds are back." I heard Terry chide from the living room.

"_Go Die._" I muttered dangerously while flipping him off.

"That's the third time you did that to me today! Geeze, chill." Terry said waving his hand. "So uptight."

"Sorry, it's just one of those days where you're extra stupid..." Then I couldn't help but laugh. Terry gave me a pat on the head while Rock continued eating. This is the way life should always have been…

….

3rd Person P.O.V.

"That road seems quite familiar, don't you think Shen?" Ash questioned an older blond man.

"Yeah, that's 5th Avenue and South Street." Shen answered Ash simply.

"I thought so… Thanks Shen!" Ash said as he waved of the muscular blond. He walked into a room that only had a few cabinets and a single bed. He began laughing lightly. "So that's Kyo's location… I'll just have to bide my time. I have this in the palm of my hand… The only problem is… what am I going to do with her…"

_End Chapter 5- Fake It!_

That's it for now, see ya'll in chapter 6!


	7. Fight At The Live House

We all know the usual happens here, since I don't have much to say- so onto the story~!

**_DISCLAIMER: _I don't own the Garou/King of Fighters cast, nor do I own the locations- it all belongs to SNK. I do own miss Walker, in all her grumpy glory.**

_Chapter 6: Fight at the Live House_

"I see you're new around here..."

I glared at this brown haired man who decided to take a seat next to me. My grip on my cup tightened. "What of it?" I growled as I set down my glass and smoothed down my aqua blue mid thigh length cocktail dress. I immediately went to playing with the string of my short sleeve light blue hoodie, trying to look unamused.

"A pretty lady like yourself shan't be coming around these parts alone. You know, this is a bar after all..." The 'pretty' brun claimed as he flipped some locks out of his eyes and gave me a knowing look. "You could be in danger."

"Psh. Please. Last I checked, this was a restaurant too." I shrugged, throwing back my hoodie string, bracelets jingling against each other and hair adorned with sparkling blue pins swaying with my movement.

"It's a Saturday evening, what do you really think this place is used for?" The man questioned.

I heaved a long sigh. This was getting no where really fast. "Look, clown, I could probably beat down you and all of these other posers if I-"

"Sam, great time to raise your voice, Terry's looking for you."Killer timing- Rock sauntered over to the table and lightly pushed my back to prompt me to start walking. It was a little difficult to tell if he was keeping me from starting trouble, or Terry was really calling me.

"Don't need to tell me twice." I answered dully. The 'pretty' guy just looked on, kind of angry and kind of disappointed. Oh well, he was pissing me off anyway. "Why is he looking for me anyway?"

The answer came to me with a visual, rather than Rock having to follow up with anything vocal. Terry seated amongst a small crowd, face slightly tinted red. Most of the people there were kind of red in the face. A pack of tipsy people. Perfect way to complete my already seemingly miserable night.

"Hey, Rock!" A man with spiky, gravity defying hair called out, waving his arms while standing to his feet. He was clad in only a pair of Muy Thai shorts. "Who's the girl? Didn't know you became a lady killer while I was gone!"

"Joe... this is the girl Terry was talking about. The one living with us now." Rock answered, giving Joe a dull look.

"Oh! I remember now! Terry sure picked her out for you!" Joe hollered, smashing his hand against the table joyfully.

"Yeah, definitely much better than the "woman" who keeps tailing you. Any luck batting _him_ away?" Rock chided. Joe simply bristled and sat back down, looking as if he were going to vomit.

"So Sam, why don't you and Rock have a seat, and you introduce yourself to everyone?" Terry suggested.

"Sure." I answered simply as I slowly walked over and plopped into a seat, Rock hesitantly sitting next to me. Extra wary for those jokes, most likely. "The name's Samantha Walker. Was sort of abandoned, Terry took me in. That's about it for my sob story. So who're you guys?" I asked, looking into the small crowd consisting of blonds and Asians.

"Terry, I have a feeling you did a good choice taking her in! I think she's the kind of girl timid little Rock needed as an example!" A busty Asian woman who remained clamped onto the arm of a blond man remarked in a somewhat high tone while pointing a red and white fan in my direction. She had light brown hair tied in a high pony tail and a red cocktail dress. "I like you- you sound tough. The name's Mai Shiranui. We should have a training session sometime, Sam."

I smiled slightly. "Thanks, miss." I now looked at the blond she clamped onto expectantly, awaiting him to introduce himself.

His light blue eyes met with my own, and he brushed his long blond locks out of his face with his free hand. "The name's Andy Bogard. Terry's younger brother." He answered in a soft voice. "Terry sucks at caring for girls- so hope he isn't doing too bad a job at making you feel at home."

Terry's mouth twisted slightly. "Cut me some slack, bro!"

I grinned. "Don't worry, I feel right at home."

"Good." Andy shot me a small smile. I had a feeling he was the "cooler" Bogard. Also, had a feeling he didn't have any peculiarities like Terry that would make me want to wring his neck.

A hand then perched itself on my shoulder. I looked up to see the owner of the place. "You already met me when you got your drink, but for a more formal introduction, the name is Richard Meyer. The loud mouth who cut in earlier..."

"The name is Joe Higashi, the most awesome Muy Thai fighter you'll ever know!" The spiky head interjected. Richard probably was putting the loud mouth part lightly.

"And of course we saved the best for last!" Terry exclaimed, chuckling.

My eyes darted around all the people seated at the table and noticed one last Asian man with short, fine brown hair and a serious expression. "I'm Kim Kaphwan. You seem like a bit of a deliquent, but you also do seem good at heart. Make sure you fight in the side of justice! If you don't, I will be sure to make you reform! Understand that, young lady?"

"Um... sure thing..." I agreed hesitantly. "I'll be sure to only be on the side of...Justice..."

What a fine bunch I'll be stuck with...

...

"So there was this other girl I was interested in, I'm thinking about getting her number and calling her up for a date." Joe finished explaining about some busty blonde girl. Unamusing topic number 23.

"Just make sure she's actually a woman this time!" Terry quipped.

Joe glared at him and tried batting at him with a fist. "Would you not talk about that anymore?"

I stopped listening in their conversation again and simply spun myself in the bar stool I was seated at. Then I began fidgeting in my chair. Then playing with my straw that lay in my unattended cup. Then glanced at Rock. He rested his left cheek on his left palm and seemed to be deep in thought. After a while, he turned and faced me. "You're making me feel weird..."

"Sorry, bud. I'm kinda bored..." I dismissed, waving a hand.

"So you're just going to stare at me?" Rock questioned, crimson eyes on me, eyebrow quirked.

I shrugged. "If it'll ease my boredom, why not."

Rock frowned while his face colored slightly. "You're really making me feel weird... why not just tell Terry that you're out of here?"

My face lit up, as if I was just told the most innovative idea ever. "What would I do without you?" I remarked while standing to my feet and hopping off the stool, zipping up my sweater and grabbing a hold of Rock's wrist and walking over to Terry.

"When was I included in this?" Rock questioned as we weaved through crowds of drunk people, talking and laughing, smelling of vodka, gin and other drinks.

"I'm not going to travel out there on my own." I simply responded. "I have shit-tacular luck. I'll probably get jumped again."

"..." Rock stayed quiet for a moment, then I felt his hand twitch. "I guess it is for the better..."

I let out a smile and finished marching over to Terry. "Yo, pops."

"Hahaha, how sweet, she actually calls you pops." Andy chuckled.

"Heh, what is it Kiddo?" Terry questioned me as he swigged the contents of his shot glass. Probably Vodka.

"Well... I'm kinda bored... so..." I gave him a hopeful look.

"Oh, you don't like it here?" Terry questioned.

"Not entirely. Bars are for usually for old, desperate people." I answered, not considering my choice of words.

The group merely looked at Joe as he glared at the lot of them while Terry quirked a brow at me. "What are you trying to say by that?"

"Don't take offense, you're just a drunk." I offered as I looked away.

"Ah whatever, you two are old enough anyway. Rock, take her somewhere interesting." Terry shot a thumbs up at him and winked. I could only raise a brow at this.

"Hmph." Rock narrowed his eyes at Terry before turning around, forgetting my hand was clamped around his wrist and dragging me out...

...

"Again, I'm sorry. I forgot you were holding on." Rock apologized for the umpteenth time as he chained up his bike.

"S'coo. I only fell once. And it's only a scratch." I assured as I examined my bruised elbow. "So... where are we?" I asked as I observed the location. As we took a few steps, I noticed a building. 'Old Line'.

"It's my favorite place to go." Rock answered. "The live house, 'Old Line'. I realized you might not be into live music... but I do hope you enjoy it here. I come here sometimes to enjoy the music, other times, to play on my bass as well."

"That is..." I looked at him, face full of admiration. "Freakin' awesome! Not gonna play today though, are you?" I observed him, noticing how his movements became a little more rigid.

Rock shook his head. "No, I don't have my bass. And it'd feel bad to just leave you in the crowd the first time taking you. It can get rowdy."

"Aww, I'd have liked to hear you tear it up..." I crossed my arms, putting on a childish, disappointed face.

Rock laughed lightly. "I promise I'll play back at home tomorrow, alright?"

I turned my head, beaming in joy. "Awright!"

Rock simply continued chuckling as the two of us made our way in. Once inside, there was an array of blinding lights, crowds of people, a lot of cheering and rowdy behavior- not to mention, amazing music roaring through the speakers, being played by whoever it was onstage.

"I want to see who's that up there, let's get closer!" I yelled over to Rock while I grabbed his wrist and began making my way closer to the stage. It was hard to squeeze through some of the bulkier men, and eventually I got squished in between two of them. "Excuse me!"

... No response. "I said excuse- ow!" The two of them started cheering and dug their elbows into my sides. Painful was an understatement. The brutes.

"Excuse us." Rock's gloved hands reached passed me and pushed the guys apart and away from me.

"Oh! Howard! Sorry, bro!" One of them, a black haired man called out. "Goin' to the stage today?"

"No, showing a good friend of mine the place." Rock answered, placing a hand on my shoulder.

The black haired guy grinned and pat Rock on the back. "Ah, alright! You go on ahead bro! It's much cooler when closer to the stage! Iori is on today, and even though he's so damn socially challenged, that man's damn amazing."

"Alright, see you around." Rock waved off, pulling forward by his hand still draped on my shoulder. "Be careful- you can get hurt squeezing through people with such large frames..."

"Yeah... sorry about that." I apologized, keeping up with his pace.

We continued weaving our way through the crowd, the colors becoming brighter, the music booming louder, the stage becoming visible. Slowly... louder... entrancing... something was odd about the aura in this place. My body became warm, my head pounding.

"Rock!" Some other man, a blond walked up to Rock.

"Hmm?" Rock turned around, facing him. "Oh, you. What's up?"

"I want to talk to you about the next time you go up there..."

I decided to no longer listen to what they were talking about- I'd much rather see the next time Rock goes up there without hearing about it. I looked back forward, to where the stage was, finally able to see the person playing. A familiar figure dressed in a low cut black button down and black dress pants was tearing it up on bass. His red hair flipped about as he played seriously- unemotionally, moving his head with the chords he played. "Isn't that... the Yagami guy...?"

Once again, my body felt hot and my head pounded more until I felt the weight of a hand on my shoulder. I turned around, only to meet the azuline eyes of Ash. "A fan of the crazy red-head, huh?" Ash questioned me.

"Not entirely... I didn't know he played. I just barely got here..." I answered as I rubbed my temples. "He is very talented though."

"Yeah, he certainly can play. He needs work on being social though." Ash chuckled.

"Definitely..." I answered back, straining to focus. My chest began pounding now. I wondered if I was going to pass out.

"Looks like I'm going to have to make an escape early though." Ash laid a hand on my back. "I'll catch up with you later, _ Ma Chère." _I looked up at him right when he sent a smirk over to the red head and vanished in green flames.

The painful feeling lightened right in time- I saw the murderous intent in Yagami's fierce red eyes as he looked in my direction. He discarded his bass and jumped off stage, storming in my direction. "_Shit..._" I managed to mutter as I couldn't figure out a direction to escape. I saw a small opening to my left and pivoted on a heel to start running, but before I could go anywhere, it was already too late, and Yagami gripped onto my hoodie, lifting me from the ground with ease.

"You _KNOW_ Ash Crimson! Now tell me! Where the hell is he?" The red head bellowed directly in my face.

I winced out of fear. "I... I don't know! I don't know where the hell he is! And what the hell does a savage like you want with him anyway?" I yelled back. Stupid move, I know I should have contained myself. I probably pissed him off more now. I'm sure the whole live house had their eyes on us. Not to mention I was still feeling extremely warm and dizzy- my blood felt like it was on fire.

"_Shit. She's gone and pissed off Iori Yagami. No one's stupid enough to do that. He'll probably tear her apart."_

"_You think someone's gonna be man enough to jump in and save her?"_

"_Yeah right, you think anyone is dumb enough to do that? I'm not sure anyone can put up a fight against him."_

I swallowed hard while listening to the whispers.

"You think I'm just going to believe you...? You know where Ash is, now tell me! My business with him is none of yours!" his grip on my sweater tightened and my neck began burning from the hoodie rubbing against it. I remained silent. "If you don't tell me... you're going to regret it..."

Within a moments notice, someone quickly dashed towards Iori, then their hand, surrounded by a purple aura, slammed against the red head's face, causing him to let go and fall back. The both of us hit the ground with a thud. The same hand that was covered in the aura wrapped around my arm and lifted me up, pulling me back quickly. "I don't care whatever it is that happened... don't you touch her." a familiar voice threatened. I looked up to see Rock with his crimson eyes narrowed.

"This is none of your business, blondie... get involved and I'll make you regret it too!" Iori returned the treat.

"Gonna keep harassing her? Then bring it!" Rock ran towards Iori, as Iori ran toward Rock, both of them throwing a fist. Iori attacked rather primitively and violently while Rock dodged with finesse, connecting some kicks on him, leaving him open. That's when he slid on the floor and raised himself with his hands, then pushed upwards, sending himself spiraling, connecting his knee and hands against Iori. Iori landed on the ground roughly while Rock landed on his feet, taking his stance. "You're not going to do much fighting out of pure anger..." Iori scowled and dashed to him once more, attempting to attack- Rock flipped over him, then ran to him, purple aura surrounding his hand again, jumped into the air and slammed downwards on Iori, causing him to crash against the ground. Within the time I had, I ran towards Rock and stayed close.

Iori stumbled lightly and got right back up. "You think that's going to stop me? I'm going to get the answers out of that woman no matter what it takes!" Iori began charging towards the both of us again.

"Shit... looks like I'm going to have to use everything I got..." Rock muttered, raising his hands level to his chest, both swirling in the purple haze. Iori dived, aiming a fist at him again- Rock stepped to the side and executed a sweep, sending Iori to the ground. "Hopefully this works!" The purple haze around Rock's arm began swirling rapidly as he slammed his hands against the ground near Iori. The purple aura then shot up violently, causing the floor to break and hurting Iori- the red head letting out a yell as he was sent upwards.

Rock then remained on his knees, breathing heavily, gripping his wrist and shuddering. I heard sirens and figured this wasn't the time to stay stationary. I grabbed onto Rock's hand and jumped, bounding over the crowd with my wind energy. After recovering from our somewhat rough landing, I quickly started running towards the motorcycle, breathing heavily. I still felt very off. "R-Rock... we... have to get out here..." I gripped my chest while I spoke to the blond.

"O...Okay, I'll-" Rock immediately stopped speaking and observed my face. I felt a bit unsettled. "Your eyes... they're... red."

"No way, they're black and have always been. You're probably just dizzy from using that much strength... but we gotta make tracks." I said, looking around and making sure the coast was clear.

"R-right..." Rock unlocked his bike and hopped on, not caring for helmets. I hopped on right behind him and he gun-shot right off, speeding off into the night.

A while into the ride, I could feel Rock's chest rising and sinking quickly, as was my own. He began grunting... then he became surrounded by the painful thick violet aura... the same as the one he was surrounded by the first night I was at Terry's. He began loosing control of the bike and we swerved off the road, being sent flying in the same general direction.

Everything blanked out...

Covered by thick darkness...

I wondered... did we die?

-_End of Chapter 6: Fight at the Live House_

As a random note- the moves Rock used in the same order: Hard Edge, Rising Tackle, Rage Run and Raging Storm.

And I know, Iori got royally whooped without his Magatama and fighting blindly. May have been exaggerated but ah well.


	8. In Danger

Here's the latest chapter now- the story takes a dramatic twist towards the middle and end. So uh. Hope what I did wasn't _too_ dramatic... None the less, enjoy the chapter- more KoF characters make an appearance in this one.

**_DISCLAIMER:_ As usual, I do not own the King of Fighters characters or the locations- that is owned by SNK Playmore. I only own Samantha Walker, and this story. **

_Chapter 7: In Danger_

Darkness up to the eyes can see. Cold. I could see the warm air before me every time I let a shallow breath escape. I turned my head, looking around, squinting to see if I caught sight of anything. There I saw her.

I saw me.

Her clothes were ripped apart- blue dress tattered in various areas- hoodie unzipped and missing large bits- shoes not even on her feet any more. She was hunched over, groaning and taking in rough gasps of air. Her fingers were all tensed, as if ready to claw at someone. I could see her eyes gleaming red- streaks of hair were also blood colored.

"I see you don't recognize me..." A familiar voice echoed as they slowly sauntered over to her. "Must be because of that state you're in. No matter- I could definitely use your power..." It was Rock- I could see the usual mussy blond head and red eyes- only his expression was different. He wore a smirk as well as looked very...

Cold Blooded.

"Rock, what are you-" I tried running to him, but slammed into something I couldn't see- some sort of wall separating us. "Dammit! Rock! Rock! What are you doing?"

He couldn't hear me. He simply continued going closer. The other me lunged at him, attempting to claw at him. It reminded me a lot of someone. Of that guy... the red head...

_Iori Yagami._

I was brought back to the current situation when I saw Rock dodge simply by side stepping, then quickly reaching out and grabbing my other self's neck. He lifted her with ease, the girl still writhing- clawing at him like a feral beast. "How sad... you don't even know what you're doing... no matter..."

"Dammit Rock, stop it! STOP!" I yelled, tears welling up in my eyes and banging on the non-visible wall.

"I'll end it for you here..." He muttered, his grip tightening on the girl's neck. She shrieked loud, batting faster. Rock then lifted her as high as he could before he quickly aimed to smash her against the ground- the girl's black and scarlet locks batting from the speed.

I quickly shut my eyes.

Then there was no sound. Not a yell. Not a crunch. Nothing. Rather, my eyes shot open, showing the expanse of the night sky. Another nightmare. I went to sit up quickly, but a bolt of pain shot up from my calf up to my thigh.

"_Shiiiiit..._" I hissed as I slowed my pace for standing up, gripping at the floor, pulling out a handful of grass. I looked down at my legs, painted in bruises- also noticing all the tears in my dress as well- also that I missing a shoe. Terry's friend Mary was going to be upset at how bad I tore this up. I gripped my head, attempting to assess what had occurred that left me in the middle of nowhere, lying on some long stretch of grass. Annoyed at the cool wet feeling on my mouth, I raised a hand to wipe it and glanced at my hand, noticing something.

Smeared blood.

My heart dropped. I frantically looked around, only spotting Rock's motorcycle tipped over in the grass relatively close by.

_Now I remember what happened..._

I began looking on the floor again, panicking- more so when I finally noticed a heap on the floor. I quickly hobbled over to it, worried for the worst. When I saw the blond locks- I went off running to the best of my ability before it was too painful and I fell back onto the grass. I crawled, pushing forward with my nails, not minding all the dirt that got stuck, and the rocks scraping against my fingers. After a bit of time, I finally reached Rock's body. I staggered onto my knees and observed him, tears automatically stinging my eyes and falling once I saw his face, covered with blood.

I reached out my hands, both of them trembling wildly, getting a hold of and clutching Rock's jacket as hard as I could. Tears slid from my face and onto his as I couldn't fight them back. He was probably dead because of me and the trouble I inadvertently brewed with the red head - it was obvious he had some sort of head injury, but I was too afraid to find out it's severity. I just opted to double over and cry on him.

"D-don't... Please don't cry..." A voice gently asked. "It's hard seeing a girl cry..."

I tipped over suddenly- Rock's body must have raised. I turned at break-neck speed to look for confirmation- there was Rock, sitting up, rubbing his head with one hand and holding himself with another. Instictually, I threw myself at him and hugged him as hard as I could, still crying. "I... I was scared... I didn't know what to do... I though you died... I... I haven't lost anyone important to me before so... so..."

"Easy there... my body still hurts..." Rock muttered, shaking under my hold.

I quickly let go, embarrassed. "I- I'm sorry... I didn't think of that... I... just reacted. Seeing that you're okay..." I sniffled and tried wiping away the streaming tears.

My eyes widened after the next thing that happened- he actually took the hand that was rubbing his head, reached over to me and gently hugged me. "I know. That was a crazy accident. I must have been frightening. I'm sorry about that- next time I'll pull over somewhere instead of trying to drive." He then let go and moved a way a little, patting my head and smiling. "Now don't cry- I'm not used to seeing tough ol' Sam crying over someone."

I bristled, then sniffled again, trying to muster up the best glare I could, it feeling more like a pout. "D-don't say that... that's embarrassing."

"Heh... anyway, I don't have my phone on me, so could you turn off yours?" Rock asked me.

"Huh? Why turn it off? Shouldn't we call for assistance?" I questioned him, quirking a brow.

Rock turned around and looked at his bike on the floor. "I don't exactly think it'd be smart to try to ride on it again, nor would it be good to leave it here discarded. Someone might try to drag it with them. It's the first thing I earned, so I wouldn't want to lose it."

"So... you mean we're going to rough it out here?" I questioned him skeptically.

He merely nodded. "If that's okay with you? I have a sheet inside the storage of my bike so we don't get messier than we are."

"It might be better to rest than try to go anywhere." I agreed, sounding a bit unsure.

Rock nodded and slowly stood to his feet to keep from stressing anything that probably got hurt from the rough landing. I noticed parts of his pants had slits and tears in them, as well as his jacket- his shirt was just dirty. The blood from his face was just a cut on his forehead covered by his mass of hair. He walked slowly to the bike and pulled out a red sheet, spreading it on the floor. "C'mon, we should get our rest now."

I nodded and stood up, walking over to Rock. The only thing illuminating things around us was a single light post. Slowly, we both slinked on the blanket, picking up the sides and closing ourselves in it, the only thing partially outside being our heads.

If we weren't in pain, I'm sure this would be so much awkward that it was in our current state...

...

;:_3rd Person P.O.V._:;

A lanky male clad in a leather jacket, chaps and pants observed the sleeping duo tucked in their red blanket, faces somewhat serene. "Tch. This is a pain in my ass. You sure this is her?" he questioned, flipping back a mass of white hair. He narrowed his amber eyes as he continued observing the sleeping Samantha. "She could have always dyed those few strands of hair red. You know all those punk teenagers now a days..."

Another man walked up to the lankier one, one with a large, muscular frame and short, slicked back brown hair as well as extraordinarily tall. "I'm sure it's her, that's the young Howard next to her as well- I've gotten reports that the two live together along with Terry Bogard. I'll carry them both, K', you just pick up their bike and head back to the meeting point by Barbaroi Falls."

"At least that's not as annoying." K' lifted the bike from the ground and rolled it toward the highway. He mounted it, turning the key and revving the motor. "Don't take too long, Maxima."

"Right, I won't." Maxima waved the young man off as he kneeled down and scooped up the two unconscious teens...

...

;:_Sam's P.O.V._:;

"It's definitely her..." I heard a voice murmur.

"What proof do you have?" Another voice questioned.

"Her eyes."

My consciousness began to stir. Something felt odd- I was warmer, on a comfortable surface and it smelled of alcohol. Like a hospital. Before I had the chance to wake up, my eyelid was lifted and a light was flashed in it. "SHIT!" I yelled, batting away the source of light while bolting upright. "Dammit..." I grit my teeth forgetting the pain I was still in. I held my sides while I looked up. "The hell is that for?" I scanned the area, noting it was a small room with two examination beds. Rock was no where in sight. I looked down at my own body- it was covered in a sleeveless body suit.

"We're doctors, checking out a potentially grave condition you may be in." A woman in a white lab coat said.

"Potentially grave condition? I'm sure I'm fine. Now where the hell is my friend?" I snarled at the woman. I could tell this was no hospital after looking around.

"Don't worry, miss! You're friend is okay, he's taking a nap in the other room." A girl with long, chestnut brown hair called out. She hopped from the other examination desk, two lollipops in hand, extending one out to me. "I'm Kula Diamond. And you are?"

"..." I quirked an eyebrow looking at the girl. After examining her face a little- her expression full of innocence, I decided why the hell not. "Samantha Walker."

"C'mon, I'll take you to your friend!" Kula said as she kept nudging the lollipop in my direction.

I reached for it, and she handed it to me. I let out a small smile. "Okay, show me the way."

Kula nodded and began weaving through a hallway, me following after her at a slightly slower pace, trying to keep from hurting myself. She then turned towards a door and opened it, leading me into room. "Uncle Maxima!"

"Kula..." An extremely tall, very built man turned around and walked towards the lanky girl. "This girl here has a lot of bruises on her arms and shoulders, it might not be good for her to be walking."

"Oh, I'll help with that!" Kula lifted one of her hands covered in a strange yellow and black glove and held it out. Suddenly, her chestnut brown hair began changing to a light blue color- I looked on in awe. Then, after a quick burst of cool air, she held a chunk of ice in her hand. "This will help you!"

I couldn't help but laugh a little. "It's okay, Kula- I'll manage. Thank you for worrying, sir." I nodded at the ridiculously tall man.

"It's okay, just call me Maxima." He responded with a smile. "Anyway, what brings you two here?"

"She wanted to see her friend." Kula answered, licking her lollipop.

"Oh, he's right here." Maxima nodded behind him, and there, I saw Rock sleeping peacefully. "He's still sleeping- I'm guessing you two had a rough accident."

I nodded. "You could definitely say that.

Loud footsteps echoed. "Oi, Maxima." A voice called from the hallway. "The doctors said Kula took the girl to see the blond guy, so I guess now is a good time to tell-" A tall tanned, white haired guy donning sunglasses and clad in a leather jacket, chaps and pants walked in and stopped abruptly when he saw Kula and I in the room. He lowered his sunglasses with a finger. "Ah, she's here."

"Yeah, now what happened K'?" Maxima questioned the guy.

"Let's get our job done and tell her why she's here. I don't want to be stuck in this place for so long, I'd much rather get paid and head back to the apartment." K' drawled.

The nerve! Treating me like a burden when I don't even know them or why the hell I'm here! "Excuse me for keeping you from going home..." I sarcastically apologized.

Maxima laughed a little nervously. "You'll have to excuse K'. He's doesn't seem too friendly, but he's not a bad guy."

I crossed my arms and observed K', locking my eyes with his amber ones. "Right, I'll _try_ to believe you. I admit though, I am curious as to why Rock and I were brought here. I appreciate being taken out of the wilderness at the very least."

"Just doing our job. Anyway, what you're here for... You're being targeted as the sacrifice to resurrect a very powerful being named Orochi. Many people are going to go after you to attempt to prevent this from happening- some may try to keep you in their custody while others may try to kill you. We're being hired to simply keep an eye on you and prevent anything from happening." Maxima explained.

I just stared at him blankly. "And you expect me to believe such a farfetched tale..."

"It's your choice to believe me..." Maxima reached a hand towards a table and picked up a hand mirror, holding it out to me. "But all in all, these are the facts."

"Hmph..." I grabbed the mirror, giving him a funny look, then holding it up to myself. My eyes widened and I twitched when I noticed my eyes were now scarlet, as well as a few strands of my hair. "What the hell is this?" I dropped the mirror quickly. It was just...

_Just like in my dream..._

"Since you're not directly related to the Yasakani or now, Yagami family, your hair most likely won't change entirely red, but there it is. You're starting to get affected." Maxima recovered the mirror before it fell on the floor.

"Ya...ga...mi...?" I slowly asked. "Yagami..." The same last name as the red headed, red eyed brute.

"Naturally, you'd have reactions if you were near Iori Yagami, since he's directly linked to the Orochi, but this time, it's not him. You'll have to steer clear from someone else." Maxima warned.

"Stay away from Ash Crimson." K' demanded.

"What?" My mouth went agape and Rock began to stir from my yelling. "How the hell are you going to tell me to stay away from my friend! He obviously has nothing to do with this, where the hell are you coming from with that?"

"Is he really your friend?" K' questioned. "He may call you that, but do you know anything about him? No one can be trusted." He said gruffly as he crossed his arms, leather squeaking as he did so.

"I..." It was true- I knew nothing about him, but I felt I could trust him. "You know what, just shut the hell up! What the hell do you know anyway?"

I began to storm away towards the door step, but K' moved quickly, sunglasses dropping on the floor. He clutched the turtle-necked collar of my body suit. "Listen carefully- I don't have to help you, this is a big pain anyway, and I don't feel like doing this shit... but I'm ordered to, and it's helping me out by giving me some money to put more meals on my table... but Ash Crimson isn't who the hell you think he is." He then clutched the back of my neck- his fingers cold. "Watch your back." He then finally let go, giving me a harsh look, then walking away.

"What the hell is going on?" Rock asked, finally up and looking at what was going on.

"Nothing, he's letting her know that you're both free to go." Maxima covered up, knowing that I'd get upset if anything was brought up further. "I'll have one of the doctors pick up a car and drop you both off. Kula can take you back to the infirmary ward to wait."

"Oh...okay..." Rock looked a little suspicious, but let it go as the two of us followed Kula out.

"You got it on, K'?" Maxima questioned.

"Of course I did, stupid. You'll be able to keep her signal and we can keep track of her." K' answered.

"Good."

...

"Sorry big brother seemed mean, he was only doing his job, and we have to make sure you're safe." Kula said with a worried expression.

"It's okay... I'm not angry." I managed to smile as Rock and I dismounted the truck. One of the workers brought out the motorcycle and chained it up for Rock and handed him the keys.

"Good! See you another time big sister!" Kula waved as the truck sped off.

I let out a long sigh. "I wonder if Terry's gonna chew us out. We look like we got attacked by wild bears..." I chided.

"I'm sure if we explain, he won't mind." Rock answered simply.

I nodded and let out another sigh as a drop fell from the sky and onto my face. I was completely under shade now as well. "Now it's going to rain? Just great."

"It's definitely not going to rain." Rock interjected. "The sky was as clear as it could possibly be."

"What...?" I touched the drip that slid down my face, thinking maybe a bird took a crap on me. Instead, it was a smudge of red.

Of blood...

Hesitantly, I looked up, and there, I saw a woman's figure.

Dripping, losing more blood by the moment.

Skin pale.

Most likely _dead._

The worst part- the corpse was familiar...

_Yuki..._ Kyo's _girlfriend_. I let out the loudest shriek I possibly could, falling to my knees.

She was tied up to a post right next to the apartment complex Terry, Rock and I lived in- which is aways away from the house Kyo was staying in- meaning that it was someone who knew both me and Kyo who did this...

This is _my_ fault...

This is bad...

_End Chapter 7_


	9. Extra 1

Since I'm trying to figure out how to write the next chapter right, I wrote two little one shots to occupy the time. I figure I might as well post them with the story! Here goes!

_**DISCLAIMER!: **_**I do not own Rock Howard or Terry Bogard. They both belong to SNK Playmore. Samantha Walker is mine, of course. **

This is written in 3rd Person, unlike the rest of O:TBMD. Hope you enjoy this sweet little piece!

_Extra 1: First Love?_

"Pass the Salt?"

"Sure."

"A-ah!"

"Aw, crap!"

...

Samantha sighed as the salt shaker dangled within her right hand's index finger and thumb, little sprinkles colliding with the wooden floor. Turning the shaker over and setting it on the table, she turned to her roommate, Rock Howard. "Seriously... You're still nervous around me?" She let out another sigh as she ran her hand through her sable hair.

Rock groaned and looked away, his bright blond hair followed his movements. On the other hand, the third person occupying the table couldn't help but grin. Terry Bogard let out a hearty laugh, only further agitating his adopted son.

It was yet another morning at Terry Bogard's residence...

"It's only been like... you know... six months, Rock. I'd expect you to at least be accustomed to Sam!" Terry wiped a forming tear in the crook of eye, still laughing.

Rock, still avoiding eye contact with his two fellow compatriots, let out a huff. "Sam's still a woman, you know! It's not that easy!"

"Aha! Yeah, as if! That's so silly, Rock!" Samantha let out a howl as she slapped a hand against a knee. "C'mon! We all know I have zero tact, and my woman genes don't work right! I should practically be a brother!"

"You still show a vulnerable side, and dress like a woman!" Rock yelled out, clearly exasperated.

Terry stopped his teasing and simply stared at Samantha. "You show what and dress like what? I've never seen this!"

"What has not been seen, has never happened." Samantha denied. "And if it's ever happened, either it's been away from you, or I jumped out the window so you wouldn't see me."

The three tenants of the apartment all remained silent, eating breakfast. No one spoke, until

Terry broke the silence.

"So... Who are you trying to impress?"

Fists collided with the kitchen table. "NO ONE!"

"You mean, you never got pretty for a boyfriend?"

"NO!"

"You're so boooring." Terry waved, still further infuriating Samantha. "You mean to tell me that you never once got yourself pretty for your man?"

Samantha gave Terry a death glare. It was already enough that wanting to kill him was a part of the agenda, but right then... he was pushing it. " _NEVER..._It's not like I'm pretty or effeminate. At least not anymore. With my hair so short, I'm sure I lost loads of charm."

"_You? _Long hair? That's crazy talk! I couldn't imagine you with a trait so girly as that!" Terry let out a hearty laugh again.

"It was up to your hips, right?" Rock questioned.

Samantha jumped back, nearly tripping on her chair. "Y-Y-Y-You remember that? That was a while ago already!"

"Well, you did fight me in your school uniform when we first met..." Rock once again looked away. "That is _girly, _right? I mean, a skirt and a shirt with a bow."

"B-b-but it was required! It's not like I'm wearing it to be a proper lady!" Samantha flailed nervously, the chair behind her being pushed back.

Terry crossed his arms, looking mildly disappointed, gazing directly at Samantha. "_I'VE _never seen such a thing before... It would be nice to see some proof!"

"YOU'RE EXAGGERATING! ANYWAY! ON TO A DIFFERENT TOPIC!" Once again, Samantha slammed her fists against the table, causing her silverware to bounce.

"Ah, yes! So you've never dressed up for a boyfriend? So you wouldn't dress up for one if you got one again?" Terry questioned, absolutely bewildered.

"Well..." Samantha fidgeted. "That's not exactly the problem..." Both azure and scarlet eyes were now on her. "I just never had a boyfriend."

Terry gave her a dubious look and began laughing. "Aw, c'mon! You expect me to believe that after nearly eighteen years of your life, you still have no track record?"

"I don't have one." Rock cut in, an unamused expression on his face as he held his head up with a hand and played with his spoon in the other.

"Well, you're different..." Terry thought a loud.

"Not very much, probably..." Samantha looked down, a depressed expression on her face.

Terry spun around in his chair, near gaping at the brunette. "Aren't you... well... comfortable with guys?"

Samantha sighed and shook her head. "Well... yeah... when we're shooting hoops, or fighting or something like that. I get self conscious otherwise. I just... don't know what to do." She began rubbing her palms together. "I've been raised fighting against them, y'know...

Eyes still remained on Samantha. She started fidgeting even more, until Terry spoke.

"Well... I can't really say much about my loves too, at least..."

"'Least you had 'em." Both Rock and Samantha chimed in.

Terry coughed obnoxiously and shushed both teens. "_ANYWAY..._my first crush... unbelievably was Mai. I think I was too busy learning to fight before I noticed women… and she's been practically half naked ever since I remember, and I'm a man after all…" The two teens gawked, making Terry feel a little weird. "BUT, my first love was a woman named Lily McGuire... it... well... In the end, it didn't work out."

"Why not?" Samantha questioned, now playing with a string hanging from her hoodie.

"Well... she was killed." Terry scratched his head while the two teens gave him a blank look. Shocked was saying the least. "But after that, I practically scored another love... but that didn't work out either."

"Heh... did she... did she die too?" Samantha attempted a grin, her lips lopsided, and her laugh strained. Both her and Rock looked on nervously, afraid of the answer.

"Oh... yeah... she did die too." Terry casually responded. Samantha and Rock seemed mortified by the answer.

"P-pretend I never asked..." Samantha shivered. Terry simply smiled while Rock's face was a tint blue.

"Ahaha, don't worry kids, it's not serious, I was pretty young when it happened! Anyway, I like Mary now, but I don't want to go after it right now."

Rock swallowed, the sound audible. "Are you afraid she might die…?"

Terry looked up in thought, and responded. "Maybe a little bit?" The atmosphere became tense until Terry laughed aloud. "I said it doesn't matter! Anyway, back to you Sam. Are you sure you've never liked anyone? Not even looked at them with some sort of interest?"

"..." Samantha looked up to the ceiling in thought. She wasn't exactly sure, but she knew every time she looked at Rock, she'd get a warm feeling. Her cheeks would flush, she'd get the jitters, and she felt light-headed. "I don't know... I think there's someone... he's a kind, shy guy... who always offers to help me... He's sweet, talented... and he makes sure I'm okay, even if he knows I have to be strong..."

"Really? There's a guy?" Terry seemed so enthused by the fact, that Samantha jumped back a little. "Who is he? What's his name? Where does he live?"

"Eh... Um..." Samantha charcoal eyes were wide opened as she tried to process a thought. She briefly looked at Rock then back to Terry. "W-well... um... you see... I..."

Both Terry and Rock seemed confused at her hesitation, but Terry cracked a smile and gave her a knowing look. "So you did fall for..."

"SHUT IT!" Samantha flailed wildly, her voice shrill with nervousness. "Yes! Yes, I did! I couldn't help it! It's just that he-"

"It's alright, you don't have to explain." Terry gave her a smile. "I'm just glad to find out you do..."

Samantha blushed slightly and scratched her face. "I-I guess... but I don't know how to approach him..."

Rock was left behind in the conversation, and he seemed a bit disinterested, but he still contributed to Samantha's situation. "For someone shy, you just need to take it slow... One step at a time and not pushing yourself on them is the best way to win them over."

"Someone won you over, Rock?" Terry questioned him with a quirked eyebrow. "How to think _you_ of all people could say the right thing!"

"I'm not _that_ ignorant." Rock shot Terry a look as he finally finished his meal. "I'm off. Basketball practice."

"Thank you, Rock!" Samantha grabbed his hand, stopping Rock from leaving the dining area. Her face was red and she was shaking. Finally mustering up the courage, she gave Rock a crucial hint. "Is it working?"

Rock widened his eyes, his face turning crimson. His hand trembled a bit before he let go of Samantha's hand and ran off.

"You know what? For your first love, I think it's going pretty smoothly..." Terry crossed his arms as he walked over to the door way and smiled.

"Say something like that again, and you won't wake up tomorrow morning..." Samantha hissed, Glaring at Terry.

"Geeze... I thought love would make you a least a _little _softer!"

"Stop saying it!" Samantha yelled, afraid Rock would hear…

...end!


	10. Emergency

Hello, and welcome to chapter 8 of Operation: Terry Bogard Must Die! I left the fic for a while, unsure of where to take it, but with help from Miyama ayane, I've gotten back on the road to working on this! And thanks to said help, I've already got things planned from this chapter until the end! I hope you enjoy this fic once more!

Oh, and incidentally, I researched some stuff, and came across "The King of Fighters: Kyo" again and have discovered Saisyu used the whole lamppost thing, tying Yuki up there… Oops! Forgive me!

_**DISCLAIMER: As you know, I do NOT own King of Fighters, Rock Howard, Terry Bogard, Kyo Kusanagi, Ash Crimson, Yuki Kushinada and so on. They belong to SNK Playmore. Little ol' Sam is mine, though!**_

_Chapter 8: Emergency_

"Yuki! No… NO! This can't be… this can't be happening!" I choked as I fell to my knees, a salty sheen spilling on my cheeks. Aside from the accident yesterday, things were going so well… until now. "What if she… what if she's… I don't know… I don't know what I'll do!"

"Get a hold of yourself!" Rock cried out nervously as he kneeled down until we were eye level, and gripped onto my shoulders, shaking me lightly.

"I can't… I _can't_… It's my fault she was killed! If it wasn't for me… if only I were the one to get killed instead, then-!"

Rock's crimson eyes flashed furiously as his grip on my shoulders tightened. I let out a yelp as his fingers pressed hard, but he didn't loosen up even a bit. "Don't you dare finish that… I've had enough of people getting hurt… enough people dying! Now listen to me… she might not be dead! She may be alive! You're the only one that can save her…"

"What if she is dead?" I started shaking violently, my lips quivering. "It's my fault! I don't deserve your sympathy!"

Rock's eyes widened considerably as he moved his hands up to the fabric on my neck. He gripped the collar of my body suit tightly, pulling me closer. It seemed as if he were shaking, like he was completely enraged. "Then what the _**FUCK **_do you consider your time with me and Terry? Are we really just "roommates"? that you would hold no sort of care for? That you wouldn't consider _**our**_ feelings as well? His breathing quickened as he inhaled harshly and exhaled heavily, his shoulders rising and falling quickly. "Aren't we friends? Who the hell would even think to feel that way around them?"

Tears fell quicker as I tried to look him in the eyes. I held onto his hands briefly, then wobbled onto my feet slowly. I could only look at the lamppost where Yuki hung from, rope around her body. "I'll bring her down… Will I have to take her back with me as well?"

I could hear the relief in Rock's voice as he muttered "Good…". I continued to look at the lamppost, afraid that if I looked at him, I'd cry hysterically. I did not deserve his care I so selfishly craved for. I continued observing the older woman for some moments, thinking of all the wonderful times I shared with Rock and Terry. Getting angry… Sad… Crying, screaming, laughing and smiling…I realized how foolish I had been, willing to throw it all away for a ridiculous reason. I just couldn't bear to face one of my sources of happiness when I knew just how wicked I truly was. "I'll carry her back, you just bring her down. I'm going to give you a boost up. When I do, use your aero kinesis to get maximum height. You should reach, right?"

I nodded, finally looking back to the blond. "I should." I started taking steps back, preparing to run, so the plan would work. "Ready?" I asked as Rock joined his hands together, almost looking as if he were praying.

"Yes! Go!" With that, I ran towards Rock, wincing a bit from the left over pain the crash caused. I leaped, my soles coming in contact with hands. Once he fought off the weight I pushed onto his body, I used a strong gust of wind to push me up. I looked down as I soared, seeing Rock on the floor rubbing his arm. He quickly shot me a thumbs up to show he was alright, for the most part. "Go get her!"

"Right!" I scaled up quickly, reaching the light in within seconds. I grabbed onto a part of the post , pain shooting up my arm. I flinched, then recovered my attention, now looking at Yuki. Tears threatened to fall once more as I saw the scars and bruises she received, when she did not deserve it. I felt relieved when I noticed she was breathing, and even more so when I noticed an important detail. She has no burn marks, and her clothes were not singed! "Coming down now!" I yelled as I cut off the rope tying Yuki and wrapping my arms around her, slowly beginning to descend. As we fell towards the ground, I began releasing bursts of wind, beginning to fall at an incredibly slow rate, coming close to Rock's outstretched hands. Yuki was placed into his arms carefully as my feet tapped the floor.

"You did an amazing job!" Rock praised me as he heaved a sigh of relief. "Now let's-"

"**COUGH!**" As I figured happened, I used up too much energy. I clutched my chest as I fell to ground, coughing harshly. "I… I'm o-**COUGH!**" I held out my hand as I let the last rough cough out, blood splattering all over it. I placed my palm on the pavement quickly so Rock wouldn't see it. "I-I'm okay. I promise." I smiled briefly, my lips forced up and quivering.

"Are you sure?" Rock had a concerned expression as he looked down at me. "If you're not, we can call an ambulance-"

"I'm _fine!_" I emphasized as I wobbled back onto my feet. "S-so let's not…" With slow, uneven steps, I began leading the way. "Yuki needs first aid so don't worry…"

The concerned blond hesitated for moments before beginning to walk forward, taking careful steps to not disrupt any of Yuki's or his own injuries. "You better be sure…"

Worried that Rock could take too long and tire himself out, I started hurrying up. "I am, I'll go on ahead and get Terry!" Trying to not look back, I rushed on a head, grinding my teeth every time I touched the floor, my energy almost depleted. Forcing what little chi I had left, I moved quick, reaching our residence. Terry's residence. Bursting into the building, not losing momentum in fear that I'd collapse at that moment, I shot up the stairs, letting out a blood curdling scream after skipping 5 steps and landing roughly, then letting out smaller groans with every landing.

The door to Terry's apartment blasted open, then blond coming into view. "Sam? Where the hell have you and Rock been? I was worried!" His eyes widened as I jumped towards him, grabbing his arms, my left hand still slightly moist from the drying blood sliding up a bit. "What happened? Are you okay? You seem badly injured!"

"Go to Rock, please… Please! He's down the block… he's injured and he's carrying another unconscious girl… He'll probably get tired… So… please…" I urged, my chest burning my consciousness blurring.

"But what about you? You seem really hurt!" Terry urged as he walked me inside.

I shook my head lightly, trying not to make the dizziness worse. "I rushed… over here to get him help… So please… don't worry. Ask my mom to… call my private doctor for the girl… I'll talk with my mom… about paying her back. Please! Go!"

Terry lingered for some moments before running off, shutting the door behind him. As I could hear his footsteps become faint, I fell to my knees, holding myself up with an arm, clutching my chest with the other. I let out one last loud cough before falling to the floor, everything blacking out.

I've reached my limit…

…

_3__rd__ Person P.O.V. _

"Jesus, Rookie! It looks like the both of you were attacked by a friggin' bear!" Terry complained as he effortlessly cradled Yuki in his arms. "Sam especially! She put blood prints on my arms! I'm sure people are going to think I killed this young lady!"

"Sorry…" The younger blond apologized as he continued limping forward. Rock rubbed his head with a hand. "We had this run in with some crazy man, and then had a… motorcycle accident…" Rock looked away, afraid of the stern look Terry would give him.

And Rock's intuition was correct. Terry eyed him with an astonished expression. "Are you serious? Arent' you amazing at riding a bike? Are either of you suffering serious injuries? How about this young lady? How your bike?" Terry began asking question after question.

Rock sighed heavily. "To my knowledge, we both sustained minor scrapes and bruises. We should be fine. The bike, thankfully is in good shape. As for this woman… I have no idea who she is. It seems Sam knows her though." He then eyed the unconscious Japanese woman. "I am glad she's okay though."

"So you don't know what happened to her?" Terry questioned, an eyebrow raised.

Rock shook his head in dismissal. "I doubt Sam knows either. Seems like she was attacked and tied onto a lamppost."

"That's cruel…" Terry mused as he motioned for Rock to open the door for the hallway. Rock held it open while Terry passed through. "I could imagine how her family's gonna feel…"

"It'll be difficult to break the news." Rock slowly scaled the stairs, gripping tightly to the hand rail and fiddling with his keys in his free hand. "I'm sure Sam will need support for this. I'm not sure if I'm any good…"

Terry pat Rock's back a little roughly, causing the teen to yelp. "If it's anyone she listens to, it's you. So do the best you can for her, alright?"

"…Alright. You didn't have to hurt me to tell me…" Rock weakly grinned as he reached for the door knob, pushing it open and revealing the apartment and Samantha, laying on the floor. "S-Sam?" Rock ran towards the slightly younger girl, wincing from every sudden movement. He dropped to the floor and reached a hand towards her face, moving it gently. Seeing the scarlet substance as thick as grounded coffee still in the crook of her mouth and on the floor, the teens eyes rolled back as he crashed against the ground.

Terry gasped as he ran towards the couch and put Yuki down, rushing towards Samantha. He reached for her neck and placed two fingers on it. He let out a sigh of relief. "There's a pulse…" He then eyed the three ailing, unconscious people within his apartment. He slapped a palm against his forehead, exasperated. "Aw c'mon! You gotta be kidding me!"

….

"_Yeah, she's still unconscious… He's okay, he woke up after the 15__th__ hour… Doctor didn't find anything wrong with her… You're a busy woman, you don't have to… Yeah, he's still there… Alright, Mrs. Walker. I'll let you know if there's any change."_

I could hear a voice, very faintly. I could discern that it was Terry's. My eyelids were heavy. It was almost like a battle, but finally, I could see a white expanse- the ceiling. My body throbbed all over, and I certain didn't feel like moving even an inch. After debating to look around, I slowly attempted to rise, until I realized there was something tugging at my right hand. I looked and saw a sleeping Rock holding on tightly. I reached over with my left hand and played with his hair for a bit, smiling to myself. Finally mustering up the will to wake him, I started to shake his shoulders gently, calling out to him. "Hey, Rock. Wake up."

He struggled a bit to open his eyes, but when he did, his crimson eyes laid on me. He didn't look away, not even for a second. It almost seemed as if his lips quivered as he reached his free hand towards my back, pulling me into a hug. He held me tightly, almost painfully. "You idiot… You _**IDIOT**_! Do you know how worried everyone has been?"

"Worried?" I questioned, slightly adjusting my head. My face was buried against his neck, and his hair tickled. "How long was I out for?"

"Today makes the 6th day…" Rock's grip tightened. "I thought you weren't going to come to…" I let out a squeak, his hold being way too strong for my still weak body. He reflexively moved back, but I clutched his shirt for the back, burying my face in his chest. "Sam…?"

Biting my lip, I held back the tears. "Please… just a few more minutes…" I couldn't face him quite yet. I couldn't face Terry either without some time.

I couldn't see the alarm clock but I knew quite sometime passed.

"Rock, c'mon out. You need to eat. I'll keep watch on her for you if you'd like, just incase she wakes up." The door opened, and I could hear Terry come into the room. "Rock, you shouldn't move her like that!"

"It's okay." I mumbled as I peaked my head through Rock's arms, giving Terry a wry smile.

"Sam! I'm glad you're okay!" Terry ran over to us and put his around our shoulders. "Rock here's been too depressed to make dinner, and I bought food enough for only 2 from the burger joint. You two can have 'em." Terry smiled.

"Terry! I… I wasn't depressed… just uh… worried…" Rock blushed as he swatted at the older man.

I thought for a moment, before looking at the two men, gaining their attention. "There's something I have to tell you two… soon, not yet though." I had a serious expression. I planned to tell them about my plots to kill Terry, and how Rock was endangered because of them.

"Let's not worry about it then! C'mon, Rock! Bring her for your 'romantic date'!" Terry emphasized with air quotes as he left the room.

"Well then, let's go." Rock said as he stood up and held a hand out for me.

"Okay…" I placed my hand into his, allowing myself to be assisted up. His hand. The one that held me for so long, without me even knowing it.

"**Currently the reason for the fire is unknown…"**

Rock and Terry were frozen in their place as they watched the television, looking at the building burning in the news report. "What's wrong? Is it familiar?" I peaked over Rock's shoulder, my eyes widening once I saw the headline.

_Walker Martial Arts Institute Ablaze?_

"…**It seems the owners Magdaline and Robert Walker are still within the building, evacuating students!**

My knees shook violently as I stared. "B-but Terry was talking to her… everything was okay… What can I do…" I ran towards the doorway, stopped by Rock grabbing onto my arm.

"Are you crazy? You just recovered! Are you planning to get _**KILLED**_?" The blond looked incredibly worried. "I know this is your family, but-"

"They're family, just as you said… I'm sure you'd go to help Terry, no matter how battered you were… I have to go…"

"Then wait!" Rock dragged me into the room, sitting me down and placing my blue and black sneakers on my feet. He then slid on a black leather jacket. "You're crazy if you go somewhere like that barefoot. Besides… let me go with you." He then put one of his red leather biker jackets over my shoulders as I pulled my hands through the sleeves.

"You can't…" I begged. "I could never forgive myself if you hurt yourself!"

Rock then seized my shoulders, shaking me lightly. "And if you die? How would I feel? Did you already forget?"

"Don't you think you should let him go? You're killing valuable time. Besides… he can drive you." Terry pointed out.

I looked between the two men before nodding, and the two of us running out.

We quickly geared up for the ride and hopped on Rock's motorcycle, blazing through the town. "You can't do anything stupid, got it? You're not in physical condition to do this."

"…I couldn't even find out how Kyo and Yuki were doing…" I gripped onto Rock's abdomen tighter.

"You mean that lady? She's unconscious, but the guy who picked her up is grateful that you helped her in time."

"Mm…" We continued to zip through traffic, sometimes making illegal turns, thanks to the chaos the fire caused. When reaching the site, I could see someone standing off to the side. I stopped once I reached close enough to distinguish who it was. "No.."

"Sam, are you okay?" Rock asked, placing a hand around my shoulder. "It must be hard coming here… if you're not ready…"

"N-no… that's not… no…" I began shaking my head in disbelief, not wanting to accept the facts. "No!"

"Sam!" Rock then stopped us and placed his hands around my face. What's wrong? If it's not the fire…"

"Sam… you mean _Samantha Walker_?" The person turned around, then began stepping forward. "I'm glad you made it in time. The fire hasn't gotten out of hand yet."

"Why? So I could _watch_! Dammit…. _DAMMIT_! I _**BELIEVED**_ IN YOU!"

Ash Crimson merely stared back at me with his azuline eyes, flicking his silver hair out of his eyes. He looked at me, faux confusion, standing near the burning building… once my home and dojo…

I knew someone was out to harm Kyo and I… But for it to be Ash…

It hurt.

-_End Chapter 8: Emergency_

This was originally supposed to be longer, and everything was supposed to happen, but that would be SO chaotic. So it's shorter than it should be. It kinda lacks at the end in my opinion. Baaah. Well, next chapter is already on the works. Let me know what you think! I know it's kinda all going all out and down hill. And this chapter is kinda short in comparison to most. But O:TBMD is about to/just about is on the halfway point! Wooo!

Catch you all next chapter!


	11. Nothing To Lose

'Ello, and welcome back to the next chapter of "Operation: Terry Bogard Must Die"! I'm just gonna kick it into the story, so hope you enjoy!

_**DISCLAIMER: **_**I don't own Rock Howard, Ash Crimson, Terry Bogard or any other SNK Playmore character or place. I only own Samantha Walker and her family.**

_Chapter 9: Nothing To Lose_

"What on Earth are you talking about, _Ma Cherie_-"?

"Don't call me that! God dammit!" I was still shaking, clentching my fist tightly, knuckles whitening. "I had faith in you... I did... but here it is... The _fucking _truth!"?

"What do you mean?" Ash blinked quizzically before turning his head and facing the burning building. "You think I'm responsible for _this_?" His azuline eyes remained fixed on my scarlet ones, my eyebrows furrowed, looking at the young man with animosity. "Seriously? _C'est absurde~_" Ash let out a soft sigh as he shrugged his arms, seeming honestly perplexed.

I staggered for a moment, even more enraged at his faux innocence. "_**ABSURD**_? Hah! Absurd you say! It's okay… It's okay that I believed you and it's okay that I'm suffering this for my ignorance." Rock gave a look between us two before I tugged on his jacket to continue walking. He put his arm around my shoulder and helped lead me towards the building.

Ash's mouth opened slightly. "Are you seriously going in there? You could get hurt, you know…"

"What the _hell_ do you think, and what the _fuck_ do you care? You want me to die, right? I can make your damned wish come true right now. Why would you even worry, _Bastard_?"

"Hold on…" Rock interjected, finally catching to our conversation. "He… You are… if you're attacking Sam, you… You're the one that must have attacked that woman!"

"I have _no_ clue what you two are going on about." Ash shrugged as he started taking steps towards me. "Are you saying I would attack a friend?"

"You're not my friend! You used me, you _asshole_!" I hid behind Rock, shaking in anger. "I swear, you will regret this once I recover!"

"Are you really blaming me for these things? They are much effort so I most definitely would not bother…" Ash looked at his nails, then back at me. "So these accusations must be false, right?"

"And you act like this is a joke? _Screw you_, Ash. I thought better of you." I began limping away, Rock throwing Ash a scowl before continuing to assist me.

…

"_Your target is on the move… I repeat, your target is on the move…" _

Maxima quickly shot up in surprise and K' choked on a slice of beef jerky, the man beginning to bang on his bare chest in order to breathe while Kula peered over the sofa, chestnut brown hair swaying. "Where is she headed?" Maxima demanded as K' gripped the radio communicator.

"_Target is headed to the Walker Estate…. The Walker Estate is currently ablaze… I repeat, the Walker Estate is currently ablaze." _

"Shit… That stupid woman…" K' stood to his feet, grabbing onto his leather jacket and making his way to the door. "I got this."

Maxima seemed a bit shocked. "Are you sure? We're probably not going to get a bonus from this, so for you to volunteer instead…"

"It's alright." K' shrugged his jacket on, zipping it up and covering his sculpted abdomen. "Better than losing the job, right?"

…

My eyes widened when I saw the condition of the Estate. With a gust of wind, I rushed towards the window, breaking in. I looked back to see Rock, getting stopped by surrounding cops. "Stay there! I promise I'll be okay!"

Rock seemed a little frustrated, clenching his fist. "You better be!"

With that, I started rushing the best I could, racing toward the dojo area. Our house was not too badly engulfed, but the dojo was in terrible condition. While rushing, I spotted my dad under some rubble. "Father! Are you okay?"

My dad looked up at me and smiled. "I never thought my daughter would be willing to run to my rescue… It might be a little too late though. This rubble is pretty hot."

"Don't say things like that! I'll get you free!" I attempted touching the debris, but it really was burning hot. "Dammit!"

A familiar gloved hand pushed the pieces of ceiling. "If you're not hurt, you can run, sir. We'll check if anyone is left over."

I looked at Ash with a face of extreme distaste, but my dad bowed greatfully. "I'll come back if you two take too long!" With that, he made haste.

"I'm aware you're in no condition to stay here… but I believe you should listen." Ash twirled strands silver hair between his fingers as he looked at me.

"I'd prefer not. If you're done here, I'll be on my way. Thanks for helping my dad." I tried walking away, but Ash blocked my way.

"Listen. It's all I'm asking." Ash placed a hand on his hip, an impatient expression on his face. "It's important."

"Why would I want to? You took advantage of my friendship. You just used me for a plot. Attempted murder, at that."

I maneuvered to leave once more, but this time Ash grabbed my wrist. "You talk about me as if you're sure I did it. And even if I did… aren't you the same?"

"No! NO!" I pulled my hand away and gripped onto one of my arms with a hand. "I'm not the same… I'm not the same as you!"

"Are you two okay?" I could hear footsteps. My father was approaching us. "I was worried, so I came back. Are you alright, Samantha?"

"We're okay, Mr. Walker. Just deciding where to search." Ash made up an excuse on the spot. "Don't worry, Sir, we're…"

"_**ORA!"**_ Glass shattered and I could see a man aim a kick at Ash, Ash just barely able to dodge it. "You have some balls, acting like you're helping."

"Oh, the _Kyo Clone_." Ash shrugged at the man. "What brings you here?"

"Say that again and I won't hesitate to kick the teeth out of your '_pretty_' little face." The man crossed his arms, fabric squeaking as he did. From the cold voice and messy hair style, I could tell it was K'. "And I specifically told this girl to stay away from you. I'm sure you set this place up in order to kill her parents, didn't you? To butter her up as a sacrifice, right?"

My father stepped back while my jaw went slack. Ash crossed his arms and huffed. "You seem to think I'm _that_ slick, eh?"

"K-K'… is that true?" I asked, not wanting to hear the answer in reality.

"Of course. Why else would he want to associate with you? This punk seeks those who he can benefit from." K' answered as he shifted on a foot. "But this girl can't be sacrificed, so forget it about it!" K' prepared to lunge at Ash, but thick clouds of black appeared. K' jumped back while my father covered me. He let out a yell and the heat caused things to blur for a moment.

When I was able to focus, I looked at the man carrying me. My father. I cried when I saw his disfigured face, seriously charred. His fingers on my my arms felt rough. I couldn't bare to keep looking. "It's okay, Samantha… It's okay, you're fine."

"But you! You need to conserve your strength!" I continued to look away.

"He won't last long." I could hear K' in the background. "He's just doing what he can."

"I'm sorry I wasn't a good father… do you think… you can forgive me, Sam?" I could hear his voice cracking. His steps were rough. I could tell he was straining himself.

"Of course I can, dad! Of course I forgive you!" I yelled nervously. "It's not like I was a great daughter myself! I was selfish and brash! So please… you don't have to do this anymore…" I could see the light from outside already.

"Thank you… Thank you…" He began falling to his knees. "Please, tell your mother I'm sorry…" He then fell to the ground, causing me to slide from his hold, and he stopped moving. There was a momentary silence.

"Dad…Dad?"I started to shake him. "Finally, for once we talked without arguing… and now you… You! Dad!"

"He's gone." K' pulled me up by my arm. "So let's go."

"But-!"

"We have no time for this. There's obviously someone other than Ash that's out to get you. The fire teams can get him out." K' spoke no further and simply continued pulling me at his quick rate. When outside, I spotted Rock chatting with a familiar woman, the blond pulling back on his hair. I ran up towards him, clamping onto his arm.

"Sam! You're okay!" Rock heaved a sigh of relief. "I was worried… She was too, says she's your cousin." He then pointed to the woman, her identity now becoming clear.

"I came here as fast as I could when I heard this place was up in smoke!" My slightly younger cousin Ruby said while patting on her chest, as if she almost had a heart attack. Her neatly styled sable pigtails bouncing slightly with her movement. "Is everyone okay?"

My eyes widened and I ducked my face into Rock's chest, gripping onto his shirt tightly.

"S-Sam? Is everything alright?" Rock questioned, one of his hands on my head, the other cautiously on an arm.

"Someone lost their life." K' responded coolly while approaching the group. "Be careful with her, she's in danger."

"Why hello there, sir!" I could hear excitement in Ruby's voice. I could tell she was dead seriously going to hit on him right there, even in this grave situation. "Are you a special ops agent or something? Your uniform is quite peculiar, but it fits! You have such a nice build!"

"…Did you just hear that someone lost their life? You know, if you're related to her, that means that it was a family member of yours?" K' responded, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh no! Who did?" I could hear a faint touch of sadness in her voice, but I think her mission to bag K' was more important.

"Can we… move away from here?" I questioned Rock as I pulled away. He didn't voice a response, just simply obliged. After escaping some of the chaos, we approached a stretcher. I could tell right away it was my mother. "Mom! Is she okay?" I cried as paramedics pushed me away. "Please, tell me!"

"She's just unconscious." A student answered. "The smoke just got to her head."

"Oh…" The heavy feeling in my chest was lifted, just a little.

"I'm sure if she were around here, this wouldn't have happened." A male student cut in. "Sensei would have noticed something like this if here head wasn't in the clouds, worrying about her delinquent daughter, who's just _flirting _around-"

An arm reached out and grabbed onto the student's gi, pulling them close. "Watch what you say, asshole…" Rock was pulling the student higher. "Your pain over your sensei is nothing in comparison to the pain over her mother!"

"It's okay…" I laid a hand over one of Rock's. "Let's just… go home. Please…"

"…Okay." Rock grabbed onto one of my hands and began leading me back.

… _3 Days Later_…

_3__rd__ Person POV_

"Sam should be back from the funeral any time now. I should be back in a few minutes myself. Her mother is still unconscious, and the cause is still unknown. We have no idea when she'll be waking up. I'll keep an eye on her, so don't worry and focus on finding some new work." _BEEP!_ Rock shoved his cell phone into his back pocket, then dug in a paper bag, taking an apple out. He rubbed it against his shirt, then took a bite out of it. He made into the apartment complex, scaled the stairs and walked into the apartment. "Sam?" He looked towards the room both teens shared, noticing the door was a jar. He then took note of the window, the wind causing the curtains billow. He began taking quick strides over to it. His eyes bulged open when he saw Samantha standing a top the fire escape, the girl holding her arms out. She slowly moved forward before going over the edge. The blond moved quickly and jumped, grabbing onto the girl.

"Rock?" Samantha began slowing down with her aero kinesis. "What the hell were you thinking? You could have died!"

"And what the hell were you aiming for? If I hadn't jumped, you'd have been pancakes!"

"I deserve nothing less…" Samantha looked away from the man in front of her, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "Because of some stupid ass legend, I'm responsible for the injury of two friends, causing another one to be hurt in the process… Then there's my mother, who's _still_ unconscious and my father… who died to protect me! All because someone is after me! To make matters even worse, one of my so called friends probably plotted it all… And to top it off, I'm just like them!"

"So because someone wants to bring you harm, you're the damned bad guy? You just deserve to die?" Rock was livid.

"Yes! I do! I have nothing to lose if I kill myself, and people would be gaining!"

Rock's fist collided against the wall behind Samantha. He couldn't take her pessimisms any longer. "Didn't I tell you? Terry and I! What the hell are we to you?"

"Kind people who shouldn't house someone like me." Samantha was now gripping the sides of her head, afraid of what would happen next, now that she decided it was time. "I'm just like them. I… I wanted to kill Terry… for something stupid… His voice… His voice annoyed me, so I… I committed assassinations attempts… you know, you nearly died a number of times, almost falling into boobie traps laid out for Terry. You could have died. Him too…"

Rock remained quiet for a moment. He finally moved his fist away from the wall and held his hand out. "It's not good to continue discussing this out here… let's go upstairs."

…_Sam's POV_…

"You know," Rock began. I sat on the bed, looking out the doorway as Rock sat opposite, facing the still open window. My father was that man… Geese Howard. Well, if you hadn't figured that out already."

"I had a hunch." I mumbled, fumbling with my fingers.

"Well, you know, he's the reason my mother died. He refused to see me and answer my plea for help… Incidentally, Terry fought with him, and ended up killing him. I wanted to hurt Terry when I learned about him being the one to kill Geese… but Terry proved to me that he was a good person, and he took me. Several years later, I met Andy, who, along with Terry's father, was murdered by Geese. They both treated me kindly. Blue Mary… Her husband lost his life to Geese. She still treats me as nicely as everyone else."

"But you had nothing to do with the situation…" I pointed out.

"Correction. I wanted to hurt Terry, initially. I wanted my own father to get hurt too. I was just the same at a point. And I'm even still haunted by my father's shadow. If I were to feel differently about you, that would make me a hypocrite." Rock let out a huff. "Besides, neither of us were actually hurt. I don't think Terry will think much of the situation either."

"S-so… No way! You're still okay with me?" I asked, turning around quickly. I stared at Rock's back.

He nodded. "Yep."

"Which means you're still going to treat me the same?" I was still in disbelief.

"Mhm."

My surprised expression melted into a sorrowful one. "I still feel responsible for all this. Nothing will be able to change that…"

Rock then turned around, a smile on his face. "Then kick some ass to get there! Fighting got you here, fighting can get you out!"

"I-I guess… but Ash- the opponent is really strong!" I looked down, gripping onto the blanket.

"Don't worry. Terry and I will find a way to get you trained." Rock then placed a hand on my head and softly pushed it down, laying it on one of his thighs. "But for now, rest. We can talk to Terry later, okay? Try to ease your mind."

"Okay…" I nodded. I imagined that he may have had a blush on his face and smiled slightly.

"Good."

And from there, I drifted into a tranquil nap.

-_End Chapter 9: Nothing To Lose- _

So yeah… The terror is over and it's going back to being somewhat light-hearted! I hope I didn't over do it! Thank you for reading!


	12. Don't Open My Eyes!

Hello, and welcome back to Operation: Terry Bogard Must Die! As I noted in the last chapter, the pace has become more light hearted for now, and I plan to go through with that route. What route? You'll see! I don't know if it'll be liked, but hey, it's there, and I'd like to explore it! Without further ado, I bring you Chapter 10! …Didn't think I'd get that far with this fic in particular, but oh well!

_**DISCLAIMER: **_**I don't own Rock Howard, Terry Bogard or any other SNK character (if they even pop up in this chap), but I do own Samantha Walker!**

_Chapter 10: Don't Open My Eyes!_

Nightfall arrived and Rock stayed by my side the whole time, holding onto my hand after I had awakened. With my free hand, I hugged my knees against my chest. He was aware of Ash being a supposed friend and now possibly being the enemy. The both of us stirred when the front door opened. Rock's hand slowly released mine as he raised from the bed. He ruffled my hair before going over to Terry. "There's some stuff I'd like you to hear out."

"Hmm? Is everything alright?" I heard Terry question, his voice filled with worry.

"For the most part." The two blonds walked into the bedroom, the both of them sitting around me. "Where should we start?"

I took a deep breath. "I'll start from the beginning."

"Are you sure?" Rock asked, a small smile on his face. I felt a little more ease.

"Yeah, I'm sure." I offered my own wry smile. "So umm… you see… I… I…" Rock then gripped my hand once more, giving me the final shove of courage I needed. Terry only managed to give us a quizzical look. "You see, Terry… I tried to kill you. More than once, and Rock nearly incurred fatal injuries from it… because I…I…"

"Because you?" Terry leaned in a little close, seeming curious.

"Because I hated your accent!" I nervously yelled. The room went quiet and I started to become anxious. "I regret it now, b-but…"

"BAHAHAHA!" Terry gripped onto his stomach, doubling over from the laugher. "I think I like you more, Sam! I'm glad I was able to get guardianship for you! It never gets boring." Terry wiped forming tears from his eyes as he grinned. "That is the craziest thing I've ever heard, but interesting to know! Tried to kill me because of my accent! That's rich!"

I only managed to blink. "Wha?"

"You tried to kill a man because of their accent. Their accent! It's insane, but to think that I had someone keep me on my toes without even realizing it!" Terry continued laughing. "You're a real character, Sam. That just made my night!"

"So… you're not mad?" I asked, flabbergasted.

"Heck no! I actually feel pretty good that you would tell me!" Terry took in a breath to try to keep from laughing anymore.

"I told you that part would be okay." Rock gave his own light laugh. "But now, there's one last thing we have to ask."

"What's that?" Terry questioned, somewhat eager.

"Some people are after Sam, and she needs some intense training." Rock's grip tightened as he said it. I gave his hand a small squeeze.

"Sure, you can coach her." Terry simply answered.

"Huh?" Rock slightly jumped back while quirking an eyebrow. "Me?"

"Yeah! You're just about as good as me, so she'd learn just the same. Besides that, she's closer to you, so it would be easier for you to teach her than me. But don't think that you two are going to worm your way out of school!" Terry said as he stood to his feet.

"Oh, crap! I completely forgot about school!" I slapped my free hand against my forehead. "I haven't even worked on my assignments or anything and I had a ton of holiday work… I've even been absent enough to fail automatically! I… I do have excuses… but they still won't let me off that easy…"

"That's okay, because starting next week, you'll both be going back, and I requested that you changed schools and for you to be in Rock's class, so you don't have to worry about your private school costs…or that homework you owed." Terry offered a grin.

"I actually appreciate that." I beamed. "Thank you… for still supporting me."

"No prob!" Terry shot me a thumbs up. "Oh yeah, by the way…" Terry then pointed at Rock and my conjoined hands. "Anything I should know about?"

The two of us let go of each others hands quickly. "M-moral support!" Rock rubbed the back of his head gingerly.

"Y-yeah!" I nodded in agreement. I kept my head down, but sneaked glances at Rock. I then looked down towards my hand.

"If you say so." Terry shrugged as he walked out.

I was in trouble, I had a feeling…

…

"Breakfast is ready!" Rock called out, mostly to let Terry know.

"I'm on my way…" Terry yawned loudly.

"Me too!" I yelled from the bathroom. I was finishing tying up my blue training top, making a knot on the back, then making a knot behind my neck, the strings falling across my shoulders. I patted down on my black jeans. I was anxious. With that, I walked out, ready to eat, then promptly start my first day of hard core training. I sat at the table, Terry shooting me a grin. I managed to throw him my own large smile in return. Something was definitely different. Rock set down some cinnamon buns and I reached for one, but Terry hit my hand with a spoon. "OW! What the bloody hell was that for?"

"You're about to under go intensive training, so no fattening snacks!" Terry waved a finger at me while I puffed my cheeks and sank in my chair.

"Old codger…" I mumbled while crossing my arms. "I'm sure you eat a crapton of burgers, training or not…"

"I heard that." Terry reached over to whack me with the spoon again, acting as if he were an old man attacking me a cane.

"You're so strange." Rock laughed as he set down Terry's and my breakfast plates. "Remember to eat well, but don't try to over do it if you feel full, alright, Sam?"

I perked up before grabbing my silverware. I looked at the blond before me, his hair seeming a little neater than the usual mussy and his black T-shirt fit tightly on his chest, allowing his muscles to be outlined through. "R-right!" I wore a lopsided grin, hardly able to keep my gaze. I looked to the side, spotting Terry shooting me an inquisitive look. I couldn't help but grimace.

The three of us ate our breakfast in a peaceful silence. The air completely changed from all the other times. It was probably just me with the negative air. Once we were finished eating and I washed the dishes, Rock and I went to the complex's roof top.

"So rather than make this a points match, we'll just free spar. You can show me where you stand." Rock said as he stretched a little.

I finished doing my own stretches. "Alright!" I took a stance, my gloves squeaking as I clenched my hands into a fist.

"Ready?" Rock questioned as he took his own respective stance. I gave him a nod. "Go!" The two of us lunged towards each other, preparing an attack. I threw a punch towards Rock, but the blond dodged it with ease, pushing my fist away with his left hand and aiming a palm with his right hand. I had little time to dodge it and grabbed onto his arm, attempting a toss. I managed to get him over my shoulder, but he recovered, landing on his feet. Rock then threw some punches- I was only able to dodge the first ones, but two of them hit my arms. I staggered back, but then recovered, attempting a crescent kick. Rock blocked his face, but I managed to get his shoulder a bit with my heel. I stomped my foot down and prepared to attack once more, but then realized something crucial.

My training top was unraveling! The knot around my neck became undone and I knew my top would fall down. "Holy crap!"

I reached my hands out desperately, not thinking thoroughly at the moment. I gripped onto Rock's shirt, the poor guy unaware of what was going on. I yanked back, the both of us falling down onto the ground with a thud. "Sam, are you okay?" Rock asked, pushing himself up.

"Wait, no!" I yelled, grabbing onto his neck, pulling him down a bit. "M-my top… My top is falling…"

Rock noted the strings and his cheeks started to color. "O-oh! I see!"

"Y-yeah…" I felt extremely self conscious. Our faces were extremely close, Rock's hair was tickling my face.

"_COUGH!_"

The both of us turned slowly. Standing there… was Terry. He had a huge grin on his face. "T-Terry!" I realized the position both of us were in. On the floor. I was holding onto him. My top was coming off. Rock's hands at the sides of my shoulder. My legs in between his.

I could die.

"I see you two are having a nice break between training." Terry leered.

"W-wait! It's not what it seems!" Rock tried to stop Terry from making anymore jokes, but the older blond smirked. It was almost like he was smirking at me.

"Whatever you say." Terry waved. "Just don't get caught." With that, he left.

"What the hell was he trying to get at?" I yelled while letting go of Rock's neck, sitting up.

And with that, my top slipped off and Rock's eyes looked like it was about to bulge out of his head.

I really could just die…

…_3__rd__ person POV…_

Terry raised an eyebrow as he looked at the younger blond sitting on the sofa, half watching TV, and the room door, shut tight. "I'm assuming Sam's in the room?"

Rock nodded, still paying attention to the television. "Yeah, she is."

"So…" Terry started off, confused as he walked over to Rock, Rock now facing him. "What happened to her that she came running in like a bat out of hell and slammed herself in there?" Rock simply blushed and looked away, piquing Terry's interest further. "Don't tell me you two really did go at it?"

"NO, DAMMIT!" Rock yelled, clearly flustered by Terry's 'stupid question'. "Sam just needs a moment to herself."

Samantha heard the last statement from within the room and pondered as she had her face halfway buried under a pillow. '_I know I feel all sorts of embarrassed… humiliated even, for that to happen… but I walked in on Rock while he was completely naked one time and he was able to act normal around me quickly… perhaps I'm being too much of a baby about this…'_ Samantha found her resolve once more, and after changing into a normal midriff T-shirt, the girl was ready to walk out, twisting the door knob, about to join the two guys.

"You sure you both didn't do anything freaky up there after I left? I mean, why else would a teenaged girl hide all embarrassed?" Terry questioned rather loudly.

And after that, Samantha lost her nerve, turned tail, and shut herself back in the room her and Rock shared.

Rock's palm smacking against his forehead was audible as the young man yelled "No!" once more.

Terry merely snickered innocently.

…_Sam's POV…_

I managed to get out of the room eventually, despite the sudden urge to hide under a boulder, and showered and started up dinner. While bringing the food down to a slow simmer, I leaned against the counter and began contemplating. The big question for myself was when the _hell_ did I start acting so… strange. Normal things that didn't bother me were now becoming things that made me anxious. Things I laughed about were becoming things that were causing me to feel embarrassed. I felt self conscious and odd moments and started taking notice of the little things, and it's not like I'm an artist to even begin caring about the smallest details.

"Sam?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin. Being on edge was another thing to add to my list. I looked towards the door frame to see Terry standing there. "Sup?" I answered coolly, trying to regain my composure.

"You okay? I hope I didn't offend you earlier, I was just joking around… Mostly." He added at the end, as if it were necessary to tack it on.

I let out a dry laugh. "Funny. I'm okay, you didn't offend me, seeing as you always say crazy things. I had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction is all." I shrugged while attempting a smile.

"Oooh! I get it now! So you were in that position because you didn't want Rock to see, right?" I nodded. Terry still had a stupid grin. "You could have turned around and tied it instead of going into a compromising position. And I'm also assuming he saw it anyway from the way you ran into the room."

Double smack. "HEY! I wasn't thinking clearly at the time! And don't remind me! That was embarrassing!" I began pushing the older man into the dining area. "Now wait out here! Dinner's done!"

"Any special reason one chair is pulled way farther away from the others?" Terry questioned.

"No special reason, but it's my seat for today." I called out as I fixed the plates.

"Uh huh…" As I brought out Terry's and Rock's plate, Rock began approaching the table, fresh out of the shower. Terry looked up from a newspaper he was reading. "Killer timing! Sam's been getting it right all the time lately!"

"I spent a lot of time here already, y'know!" I was embarrassed, so I quickly set down their plates and ducked back into the kitchen, collapsing against the counter before working the will to go out again and bring out my own plate and a pitcher of water. I walked with my back ridged, looking all sorts of awkward, and set the pitcher down. Both guys were looking at me funny. I looked at Rock, but couldn't lock stares, so I then turned at breakneck speed to Terry, who at first had a quizzical look, then curled his lips into a smirk. I jumped back slightly, then turned on my heel to take my own seat, falling into the chair roughly. After some time eating, my throat began to get dry, but I was distance away from the water. I got up and awkwardly reached for a cup, then the pitcher, but Rock took the cup from my grasp and filled it up for me

"Here. You could just ask for some help, you know." He reached to hand it back. While grabbing it, our fingers brushed and I jerked my hand back, dropping the cup. "Ah?"

"Ack!" I reached for some napkins I bunched together on the table and reached to pat down the water, but Rock motioned to do so at the same time and I jerked back quickly. Rock quirked a brow as I laughed nervously. "I-it's my mess, so I should clean it, right?" I aimed for the spot of water once more, but Rock's hand covered over mine.

"Don't worry, I said I'll help." Rock said as he then took the tissues away from my hand and pat them down.

"I…I'll collect the pitcher and cup and get it out of the way." I meekly responded, grabbing both and moving away as quick as possible.

I starting cursing today as if it were my last, miserable day…

…

"So this is where you were!" Terry exclaimed as he opened the door to the complex's roof top.

I looked up from where I was seated on the floor, hair whipping against my face with the strong breeze. "I like high places, so once I found out this was open…"

"You know, he probably thinks you're mad at him." Terry pointed out in a not-very-roundabout way.

"I'm sure my eccentric behavior makes it seem that way." I responded, turning back around and looking down at the streets, some people still walking about, despite it being so late.

"BZZZT." Terry began walking to the fence next to me. "Wrong. To him, sure. To me, I think it's something else."

"I'm not used to being so friggin' weak, so Rock's kindness is confusing me?" I asked as I looked up at the older blond.

Terry chuckled as he looked out into the distance. "Maybe you want to feel that way, but I stand firm on what I said before."

"Said before?" I questioned as I stood to my feet, the blanket draped around my shoulders flapping about.

"Y'know, what I was trying to tell you a month ago before that you rudely interrupted?" Terry said with a smile on his face. "That you must li-"

"NOOO!" I screamed as I waved a hand out. "Don't say it!"

Terry gave me a dull look. "Why not?"

"I…I… I nearly killed him while trying to kill _you_ in the process! If that's not enough, look at all the drama going on! I might be confusing something!" I took a step back, spreading an arm out to dramatize what I was saying. "Don't you think all of that are some factors to consider?"

"I told you I don't care about the first one, we're all fighters here. The second one… There honestly is no better time, I'd say." Terry said with confidence, nodding.

I stared at Terry, dumbfounded. "Are you insane? How could there be _no better time_? Isn't it the worst time? Why are you so backwards?"

"Why are you so _stubborn_? Times like these are when people realize how they feel the most. You're pretty socially retarded for a teen!" Terry countered while pointing.

"GAH! It's one sided though! What the hell am I gonna do? 'I really like you, I found that out while you helped me keep my sanity'? What the hell response am I gonna get? 'I'm not interested, I was just helping my _roommate_ through problems, it's what's right'? Be realistic!" I was gripping on the sides of my head as I wailed.

"For the record, he's never held the hand of someone he's helped." Terry said with a grin.

"THE SITUATION CALLED FOR IT!" I yelled, stomping my feet.

"Doesn't matter anyway. How are you going to know how anyone feels if you don't confront them about it?" Terry asked.

I stopped my tantrum and started thinking, only to stop myself. "What the hell, don't make me think about this!"

"Why not?" Terry asked nonchalantly.

I just wanted to crumple into a heap on the floor and disappear. This conversation was getting really awkward for me, really fast. "It's already hard to face him! It'll make it harder… To the point where even training is going to be near impossible! Don't open my eyes, Terry! I don't want to think about this! He's important… and… and…"

"If you keep avoiding him, I'll tell him." Terry gave me a sly look.

My mouth dropped. He just threatened to black mail me. "YOU DO IT, AND I SWEAR, YOU'RE DEAD!"

"You exhausted your attempts at killing me, you probably even ran out of methods!" Terry simply laughed. "C'mon, for real though. I think you'd make a nice girl for him."

My head was already spinning enough as it was. "ARGH! I'm not talking about this! I can't!" With that, I started running towards the door and sprinting down the stairs, back to the apartment. When I swung the door open, Rock was there. I nearly fell backwards, but Terry held out a hand, supporting my balance. "Y-yo."

"What's up?" Rock questioned, face pretty neutral.

"Nothing, just talking a little bit." I managed to smile a little.

"Just giving her some encouragement." Terry gave a thumbs up. "Don't worry, she's not mad at you."

Rock jumped back a little. "I-I wasn't worried about that!" The two of them were giving each other looks. I looked between the both of them, confused. "Anyway, we have an early day. We couldn't train much today, so I'm hoping tomorrow goes better."

"Y-yeah… I'll be sure to put on an actual shirt…"

"…"

"…"

"What a nice, delicate way to bring that up again!" Terry called out, already in his room.

He was right. I groaned as I started shuffling to the room, throwing myself on the bed, the blanket draped around my shoulder mostly covering me, aside from my feet.

Rock followed behind after some moments, turning off the light and going into his own bed.

…

"_What a master piece! His skin is a nice mix between crisp and burning flesh! Oh look, it almost reached bone here! Doesn't your father look lovely this way, Mademoiselle Walker?"_

"_Your mother looks peaceful while sleeping. Maybe she'll never wake up. Perhaps that means she'll never nag you about your selfish street fighting desires, all for a few quick bucks." _

"_Kyo Kusanagi's girlfriend… Don't you think the attack against her was lovely? It might dredge up bad memories for Monsieur Kusanagi. Oh, how he'll hate you when he finds out your friendship was the cause." _

"Stop it…"

"_All you have is that boy, Howard and that man, Bogard. They could be faking about still caring."_

"Stop it!"

"_Once they feel it's time to be rid of you… you'll have no one. Your family is so estranged, they wouldn't want to take you… Your mother's family hates your father's family and your father's hates your mother's. They wouldn't want a child who has blood from the opposing family. It's like one screwed up story. That's too bad. But it's okay! Once I use you for what I need you for, it'll be all over… So you should be a good sheep and just…" _

"**STOP IT!" **

My eyes finally opened, the room's ceiling coming into view. I sat up quickly, trying to catch my breath. I was cold and shaking. Tears were threatening to fall as I gripped onto the blanket as tight as I could, the disturbing images from my nightmare invading my thoughts. I swung my feet over the bed and looked at the room's other occupant, sleeping peacefully, the rise and fall from their breathing, rhythmic. I stood to my feet, taking uneven steps towards their bed, and crawled in, gripping onto the fabric from the back of their shirt.

I had to admit it. At this moment, I was nothing without Rock. I needed the support… at least for a while. I couldn't run. Not now. I pressed my forehead against his back, starting to feel at ease, and with that, I fell asleep. I did not dream.

But I did wake up in a compromising entanglement, one of his arms under my head and the other under one of my arms, as well as one of his legs atop my bottom leg, his face slightly above mine.

Either God or Karma… they are one cruel keeper…

-_End Chapter 10!_

And I'm sure you can tell what route I meant now! The ever so awkward blooming feelings! They were there before, but I figured with what's going on, strike while the iron exist… or the story becomes serious business again. Either or! There'll be 2 extras happening, seeing as how I didn't give enough fun time to Kyo or Ash, don't know when those will happen though, but hope the light hearted stuff will be alright! I know it's a complete 360 from the pace it was just going in, but I dig some sunshine with my gloom. Let me know how you feel about it! Catch you all in the next chapter!


	13. Extra 2

Here's another quick one shot! I'm having a little trouble on continuing the next chapter, as I want to put it in a school setting for a few parts, and I want Sam to make a friend and all, but I'm not too sure. Feel free to shoot me some opinions on what should happen! I want to keep that one fluffy, then after that, work my way back into the action.

For now, without further ado, I bring you random… fluff?

_**DISCLAIMER: **_**I do not own Rock Howard or Terry Bogard, just Samantha Walker and this silly little tale.**

_Extra 2_

The three tenants of the Bogard house hold were huddled up in a small bedroom. Rock Howard heaved a long sigh while Terry Bogard laughed nervously. Samantha Walker was too busy looking down in disbelief. Her wooden bed frame was in shambles and pieces of wood hazardously stuck out from the mattress. Parts of the plastic cover were melted off as there was a gaping hold burned through the blanket and said mattress, the coils partially visible.

Her bed was _clearly_ destroyed.

"What in the blue hell happened?!" The teenaged girl wailed as she pointed to the remnants of her once comfortable place to sleep. "I go take a shower, and then this poor, inanimate object that I'm supposed to _sleep_ on gets used as a demonstration to demolish stuff!?"

"Sorry about that. I used a technique I should have used." Terry rubbed the back of his head while sending Rock a look. He needed some help, but the younger blond did not oblige.

Samantha dully raised an eyebrow. She had a feeling who the culprit must have been, and her gut was right. "So let me get this straight… you used a technique that has broken the bones of past rivals… on my _significantly weaker than bones bed?!" Samantha sunk to her knees, letting out a rueful laugh. "Fan-freakin'-tastic…" _

"Y-you can sleep in my room! It's a little chilly, and you'll be companion-less, but-"

"Nooooo thanks." Samantha denied quickly. "It even_ reeks_ of alcohol in there. Don't worry about me, you wrecking ball. I'll figure something out."

Terry frowned. "But I even destroyed the spare sheets. They were on the bed, y'know."

"I'll give her my sheets. We'll figure something out from there." Rock said as he rose to his feet, scarlet eyes on Terry. "So don't worry and go to bed, before you concoct crazy ideas."

The older man jutted out his bottom lip before it was taken over by a smirk. "Alright, I'll leave it up to you." Terry shot Rock a thumbs up and wink before leaving the room.

"What the hell was that about?" Rock questioned as he turned around to peel the blankets from the mattress.

"Oh, no, wait! You don't have to!" Samantha pulled Rock's hands away from the sheets. "I can just lay on the sofa as is and maybe use some towels as blankets or something." She explained with a smile.

Rock shook his head, still opposed to the idea. "Then I'll take the sofa. It gets a little warm, so I should even be fine without any sort of covers."

Samantha shook her head vehemently, disagreeing. "It's my bed that's in pieces, not yours… so you stay comfortable, okay?"

"Then let's share, because I refuse to let you sleep uncomfortably!" Onyx eyes then locked with scarlet. Only then did Rock realize what he just suggested. "I-I-I mean… what I meant was… I didn't mean it like- ah forget it, I'll take the sofa!"

As the blond attempted leaving before regretting anything else that spilled from his lips without thinking, Samantha grabbed onto his arm. "Hold up… if you don't have a problem with sharing, I have no qualms…" she nervously looked around, tucking a stray strand of sable hair behind her ear. "Especially if you're offering to sleep on the sofa, and it wouldn't feel right…"

Rock looked briefly at Samantha before looking away, quickly losing nerve. "…Alright, then. Let's share."

All the while Rock thought Terry figured the situation was going to happen.

Rock slowly slinked into bed first, followed by Samantha, who spread the cover on both of them. Rock's face quickly colored. "I-I don't need to be covered, s-so…"

"It gets chilly at night, and I don't want you getting sick on my behalf." Samantha scolded as she wriggled until she was comfortable. "Don't worry though, you can have most of the sheets, a-and I'll keep some distance so you d-don't feel a-awkwa-a-_Aaachu_!"

Rock grimaced as Samantha sniffled, grabbing the slightly younger woman's shoulders and sliding her closer. "Don't worry about making me feel awkard. Worry about your health too…"

"O-okay…" Samantha nodded, her head now close enough for her hair to tickled Rock's cheek. The two remained silent for a while. "A-are you catching a fever? You feel kinda warm from here."

"No, I'm fine…" Rock answered, slightly nervous. Even after living with Samantha for so long, he wasn't completely over his aversion of girls. Their proximity caused his shyness to surface, ten-fold. "What about yourself? You seem warm yourself."

"I-I think I'm okay… I just need some rest, maybe…" Samantha answered meekly, feeling self-conscious.

"So then don't worry about me and get some rest. Good Night." Rock coolly responded.

"Alright, Good Night." Samantha attempted to mimic Rock's cool demeanor as she began to wriggle slightly until comfortable.

After sometime passed, Samantha scooted a bit closer to Rock, assuming he was asleep and let out a soft sigh.

Little did she know, he was awake. He almost jumped by reflex, but then smiled, assuming Samantha was asleep and cold, and carefully draped an arm around her to keep her warm. Eventually the two finally fell asleep.

But when morning came, and photographic material of their sleeping arrangement and proximity were shown, the two made a vow to kick Terry's ass.

Because now, the broken bed seemed like a set up.


	14. No Time Like The Present

Hello, and welcome back to Operation: Terry Bogard Must Die! In this chapter, expect there to be some school drama! This is the last of the fluff-centric chapters (for a reason, that you'll see), I hope this isn't going overboard, and I hope that this move goes well… After this, expect Ash, Kyo and others to make a return (actually, two of them return now) and the story at hand to start going full circle! I'm more than half way complete with this fic now! Woo!

So without further ado, I bring you chapter 11! As usual, there's a sprinkle of some colorful vocabulary.

_**DISCLAIMER: **_**I do not own Fatal Fury/Garou/King of Fighters, Rock Howard or Terry Bogard. Just this crazy story, Samantha Walker and the random classmates.**

_Chapter 11: No Time Like The Present_

"Sam…" A voice gently called out to me as they nudged me lightly. "Sam, c'mon." I simply squeezed my eyes shut tighter as I flopped around to face away from the perpetrator trying to separate me from my sleep. "Sam, it's time to wake up! We'll be late for school if you don't get ready!" The voice finally called impatiently.

I sat up on my bed slowly, not wanting to comply, but knew if I didn't, I would be in more trouble than I wanted. "Yes, mom…I'm up… I'm up…" I started to paw at the hem of my over sized shirt, slowly pulling it up to toss it over my head, but a pair of hands frantically pulled mine down, taking the shirt back down with it. "What on earth is wrong with you, ma? I'm just stripping down now to get to the shower quicker…" I mumbled, still groggy.

"Hold on, Sam. I'm not your mom, so doing that would be very… um… indecent."

It finally registered. The voice I was hearing wasn't my mom's. It clearly couldn't be as the present began flooding back into my mind. I hadn't lived with my mom in five months. Hell, she was in afreaking _coma_. I rubbed my tired eyes, remembering the trouble I had sleeping last night and looked up to the cause. A young man my age, looking at me with an expression mixed with both embarrassment and confusion. My roommate for the past one-hundred-twenty-eight days , Rock Howard. I flipped my hair back and sighed heavily. That was it. I had to admit it. I was losing my damn marbles. "Oh… Can I go kill myself now?"

"Absolutely not. Now c'mon and get ready. There's a light breakfast waiting for you and lunch is already packed for later." Rock grabbed under my arm and helped me up before reaching for his bag and exiting the room.

"Okay…" I answered, still staring at the spot he just exited from. I let out a puff, a strand of hair floating up and landing in place as I hopped up from the bed in order to shower and get dressed.

I had to admit, I was sort of excited about starting school in a different place, even if it was only for one month. I had envisioned that public school may have been better than private school. I didn't have to wear a uniform, didn't have to worry about superfluous expenses and best of all… I didn't have to worry about the boat loads of homework that's usually handed out.

After tossing on a normal blue t shirt, jean shorts and a pair of sneakers, I waltzed out into the living room in the best mood I could possibly be in for being sleep deprived. I eyed Terry, laid out on the sofa, reading the news paper at this un-Godly hour while casually sipping orange juice. It was a wonder how he did it after knocking back numerous shots of vodka and other alcoholic beverages late at night. Shaking my head from my thoughts, I shot him a grin and wave. "G'mornin', Pops!"

Terry's eyes moved away from the article he was skimming through as he looked up at me and smiled. "Good morning, Sam. Ready for your first day?"

"Yeah! I'm sure it won't be that bad!" I pumped a fist up, showing I was ready to deal with normal school life.

"Good luck with that." Terry snickered as he looked back to his newspaper. "I recommend befriending at least one girl, unless they all hate you on the spot."

"…Huh?" I was flabbergasted. I lightly rubbed the back of my head, my hair lightly tickling in between my shoulder blades. "What do you mean by that?"

"Rock should know." Terry was now laughing much more obnoxiously as he flipped onto the next page.

I then looked to the slightly older blond, waiting expectantly for an answer, but he just merely shot a glare at Terry. "Hah, very funny. They seem peaceful among each other, I don't think they'll start any trouble with Sam."

"Uh huh… sure." Terry sarcastically responded as he sat up. "You think that. Anyway! You two are running late, stop dilly-dallying and get a move on, okay?"

"Right. We'll see you later." Rock waved off as he started leading the way to the door.

"Bye. Hope you both have a good day." Terry still wore a smile as I looked back at him. I felt a pang in my heart. Probably from guilt.

But at that moment, I felt envious of Rock, being able to grow up with someone who was able to dedicate his attention to him. Someone who was able to meet eye to eye with him and not push him away just because they were busy. That he was able to have a loving father figure, even if he wasn't his _actual_ father.

But I figured Rock must have deserved at least that much, with a biological father like his…

…

We rode to the High school on Rock's motorcycle to ensure we made it on time. It felt strange when he parked though. It felt like there were eyes on us.

The same feeling remained as we walked into the building, going up two flights of stairs and down a number of corridors. First thing we did was stop by a set of lockers. Rock fiddled with the combination and popped it open, sticking his book bag in it, along with our lunch. He then grabbed my bag and pulled out my binder and pencil case, passing it to me. He looked at the bag with a hitched eyebrow. "Even with the heaviest thing removed, this thing is still pretty heavy for a bookbag…"

"I packed some extra note books and other stationary just in case." I scratched the side of my face lightly. "Classes have always demanded a bunch of extra things."

"Here, you'll only need your binder, a pencil and a pen. Possibly a calculator for math class." Rock then stuffed my bag inside and closed the locker and rolled the number dials for the combination so it wouldn't stay on the answer. "It's the last month of school on our last school year… what on earth could we possibly need?"

"Oh, heh, right…"

"Anyway, since you'll be sticking around me all the time, except when in the changing rooms for gym, you can use the same locker. There should be enough space if you don't pack a thousand and one books." He wore a light grin as I lightly jabbed his side with my elbow. "So, back on track, the combination is…" He leaned towards my ear and lowly whispered the numbers. His breath lightly tickled my skin and I could feel my face heat up.

Then I remembered. I totally had the hots for him. I curse my sudden bashfulness.

I nodded frantically as he continued leading the way to the classroom. He pushed open the door and walked in first. I could hear excited murmurs quickly festering, voices carrying over the late bell. I discreetly peaked my head in to see the girls in the classroom chattering amongst each other about Rock. I could see him talking to the teacher for a while until finally, he nodded towards me, probably signalling me to come in. Hesitantly, I trotted up to the teacher, who seemed like a woman probably around Terry's age. "I'm your teacher, Ms. Jones. You're Ms. Walker, correct?" She questioned, smiling at me to make me feel comfortable. I nodded. "Rock's father told me all about your case, and we spoke to the rest of your teachers. We'll make sure you stay close with your friend, okay? You can try to make other friends though, don't forget!"

"O-okay…"

"So here, Rock will let you know how to fill in it in the correct format." She held out an index card, so I assumed it was for emergency contact information. "There's two empty desks for you towards the back. Sorry, Howard, but you lost your window seat to the corner some time in April." The teacher remarked almost sarcastically, as if she were used to Rock vanishing often.

Rock gave a little sigh before beginning to shuffle towards our seats. He sat at a chair with one guy to his left and one girl in front of him, where as my seat had one girl in front and another to the side. "So, for the card, it's name, home phone, email address, address and emergency contact."

"Right." I pulled out a pen and quickly began scribbling it. I got up to return it to the teacher. She took it into her hands and began reviewing it. Shrugging, I returned back to my seat.

Which was now surrounded.

Surrounded by a bunch of chicks.

"So, we heard about your arrival from a teacher! We were waiting like, _so _anxiously!" A blonde started talking to me quickly. Apparently, they were here for me. I quirked an eyebrow, clearly confused.

"Yeah! Ms. Jones was telling us about you coming!" A brunette cheerfully interjected.

"O-oh… well… _why_ were you waiting anxiously?" I asked, rather straight-forwardly.

The blonde looked towards Rock, then back at me as she started to talk at a hush. "So, you're like, Rockie-Pie's cousin or something, right? We were wondering how he was out of school!"

Then it hit me. Almost harder than the distaste that hit me with the lame nickname Rock was just dubbed with. All these girls that were awaiting my return to the table _like_ Rock. And they thought I was family, willing to share the dirt about him. "Cousin?"

"Yeah! You both have the same eyes, right?" A different girl asked as she pointed a finger towards my strangely colored irises.

It took everything to resist the urge of laughing. "No, no, I'm not his cousin."

"Then are you his sister?" Another girl asked.

"He doesn't have any siblings, stupid!" Another girl corrected her.

"Maybe she's his niece then!" Yet another girl suggested.

"Didn't that chick _just_ say he doesn't have any siblings?" I asked, looking at the girl who suggested the impossible with a dull stare.

"Ms. Walker!" Ms. Jones called out angrily, grabbing everyone's attention now. "I know you're new here and going through some rough times, but it's too early to be playing elementary pranks!"

I blinked, confused by the teacher's sudden outburst. "Elementary prank?"

"You know! I asked you to get assistance from Rock in order to fill out your emergency contact, not copy his contact information and give it to me!"

"But Ms. Jones…" I sighed as I stood to my feet, looking my teacher straight in the eye in order to show I was being fully honest about the next statement. "That _is_ my contact information."

She narrowed her eyes and slightly tilted her head, as if trying to comprehend what I just said. "How is that even possible? You even listed the same guardian as him!"

"That's because we live together." Rock answered simply.

Ms. Jones expression blanked for a moment, then her face quickly colored. "_LIVING TOGETHER_? But you two aren't even _related_! That's incredibly indecent! I'm aware of your father's passing… but what's your mother's phone number so I can discuss this with her!"

As if on cue with the teacher's statement, all the girls surrounding me stared in disbelief. They all gave a glare before returning to their seats. Looks like I shouldn't have doubted Terry's wisdom. I sighed as I leaned forward, resting an elbow on the table and laying my cheek against my palm. "My mother is in a coma."

"Ms. Walker, if you're playing a prank here so I don't speak to any authority, you better-"

"She's telling the truth." Rock cut in. "If you don't believe her, why don't you call our guardian? Didn't he explain the rough time she's having? Give her some space."

Ms. Jones opened her mouth, as if she were going to speak once more, then closed it as the bell chimed. Homeroom was now over. "I'm going to give you both the benefit of the doubt. So for now, just go to your class."

Rock picked up his binder and began leading the way. As I walked through the desks to keep up with him, I could feel the girls staring at me.

It was worse than private school. It was my first few minutes into school, and I was _already_ hated by the female population.

…

The day seemed to go by quick, but not quick enough. As I prepared to go down the stairs to the gymnasium from the girl's locker room, I was stopped by five girls. The one who seemed to the be leader of this pack seemed to do all of the talking while the posse just nodded brainlessly. "Who the hell do you think you are, new _bitch_?! Thinking you can just monopolize Rockie like that! He was everyone's before you got here! You think you can just tramp around and-"

"Whoa, whoa! Um… not to actually be a bitch or anything but…" I placed a hand on a hip and waved my free arm around to show emphasis to my words. "One, Rock isn't anyone's property, so I'm not _monopolizing _him, and two… if you ladies think you have a chance to swoon him calling him things like _Rockie… Rockie-Pie _and _Rockie-Wockie, _you all have another thing coming. I nearly gagged while even just uttering those stupid names… imagine what he thinks of it, being a guy and all. Not cute. At all."

"How dare you insult the names us girls decided amongst each other! You… you bitch!"

The girl tried taking a swing at my face, but I cleanly dodged it, the girl hitting her hand against a locker. "Listen, I said I wasn't trying to be one or anything! Just giving you a piece of advice!" I grinned as the girl held onto her hand, biting back the sting.

"How dare you hurt her!" Two more girls tried attacking me, swinging fists at me. I dodged them effortlessly, able to predict their sloppy fighting style, or lack there of. Eventually when they came close enough, I ducked down from simultaneous punches, the girls both hitting each other in the jaw.

They held on tightly to where they hit each other as the last girl cracked her knuckles, getting ready for a fight. "I didn't want to do this, but now you'll have to deal with me. I'm extremely skilled at street fighting."

"Y'don't say?" I quipped as I started bouncing on the tips of my toes, ready to take off when needed.

"You'll see where that attitude gets you!" The girl began swinging punches and kicks as I backed away from them, keeping light on my feet, until I saw the wall. "I got you now!" She lurched forward, aiming to grab a chunk of my hair, but I jumped up with a boost from my aero kinesis, grabbed onto her shoulders and flipped over, pushing her forehead-first into the wall.

The girl fell flat on her ass as she reeled, trying to regain her senses. I merely let out a laugh as I waved them off. "See ya! Make sure you see the nurse!"

…

After the incident where the three girls tried to jump me, they left me alone. I thought they figured I was too much to handle, until today… a week later exactly…

I stood in the wash room wearing nothing but a towel and my sneakers, glaring into my locker, where my clothes should have been.

But of course, it was empty.

Anger bubbled in my stomach as I tried to think about who would take it. Where they could possibly have put it. I peered into the trash, somewhat thankfully not seeing any clothes. I sighed as I walked over to a bench, putting my head into my hands, clearly stressed out.

"You're Samantha Walker, right?"

I jerked my head to the source of the voice. There stood a girl with headband, pulling back sort of a poofy fro, glasses resting against the bridge of her nose, mocha colored skin and dressed in slacks and a button down shirt. "My name is Esther, I'm from your class."

"Oh, hey." I waved limply, sort of wearing a half smile.

"If you're wondering where your clothes are, that blonde bimbo from our class took it. She has it in her back pack. I saw her put it in there." Esther answered as she looked around nervously. "I… I can try to get it back for you."

"No need." I said as I hopped back up. "No need for you to get caught in this mess. It's me against them." I started to walk towards the door, readying to knock that girl's head off her shoulders.

"But over a boy?" Esther called out, not quite understanding the situation.

I stopped to think. They did think I was going to get my clutches on him and take him off the market, if you know what I mean. I didn't believe I'd have such luck, but I had to fight, even if it wasn't for that reason exactly anyway. "Honestly, he's the only one I have to give me the strength I need."

I didn't wait for a response.

I was already full out running like a bat out of hell. I held my towel down to make sure it didn't flap unnecessarily as I scaled the stairs to the third floor, taking down the hall ways and burst into the classroom, standing there with a viscous expression, looking around the classroom. Everyone's eyes were on me. Some guys were staring with reddened face, some made howls. But the girls laughed. All except for one, who approached me with faux-pity.

"You poor thing!" The blonde approached me, holding out a hand to touch my shoulder. "I was just telling Rock how they might have been bothering you and that's probably why you took so long-" as her fingers just barely touched my skin, I slapped her hand away. She looked at me with false hurt. "What? What's wrong? I'm just trying to help…"

"If you really want to help, give me my clothes. I can see my shirt sticking out of your bag." I pointed out, the red tank top thankfully visible from the slightly opened zipper. She looked at me indignantly while I just put a hand to her face. "Whoa, whoa, whoa… No. Do NOT even. I thought the people from private school were bad, but really, they were just snobby, immature kids who had never grown up. But all of you public school girls… you're all _insane_! CRAZY! Do you see what psychotic things you're doing to a girl you don't even know _just because_ she spends more time with the guy you like?!" I can tell Rock was mortified that someone actually voiced that his fan club were girls that actually liked him. "A week ago, five of you tried _jumping_ me! Now you steal my clothes so I'm either forced to stay down there awkwardly or strut around with only a towel on?! C'mon! Grow. The. Fuck. Up. That's all I'm going to say."

"How dare you speak about us like that?!" The blonde was now yelling. "You don't even understand us! We've known Rock for a few school years and have liked him since then! And then here you are, out of nowhere…"

"Do you even know his hobbies?" I stopped her.

"What?"

"You know? His hobbies? His likes? Favorite food? What he dislikes?"

"N-no… I never ask those things…"

"So you like someone you don't even know."

The girl's eyes widened as I reached into her bag unceremoniously and pulled out my clothes, making my way out of the classroom to the bathroom.

Esther was there, waiting. "I'm glad you got your stuff back, although you went a little overboard. I heard everything, and girl…"

"I think I went easy on her." I answered back as I slipped into a stall to put my clothes on. "I could have always gotten physical and made it a thousand times worse."

"You fight" Esther asked, sounding a little intimidated.

"Yeah. My parents owned a martial arts institution, so I grew up with it. Aside from that, I'm preparing to go toe to toe with the guy who killed my dad, so Rock and I practice two to three times daily."

"You practice with him?!" Esther's voice was filled with disbelief. "But he's a guy! And a strong one at that! And to fight some murderer?!"

I laughed, a little louder than I thought I would. "Well, I am going fight another man. I can't get any stronger or any more skilled fighting people who aren't as good."

"… Hm. This is a little random, but… I have a bit of a question, if you don't mind me asking." Esther had a smile on her face when I walked out of the stall.

"No, I don't mind, go ahead and shoot."

Esther seemed a little nervous to ask, but finally managed to go out with it. "You really like Rock, don't you?"

I choked, possibly on air, as I tried to process the fact that she really did just ask that question, and so straight-forwardly. I had always stopped Terry before he said it, so it caught me off guard, like one of Terry's bomb knuckles to the gut. "I… Well… You see… I-I…"

"Nail on the head." Esther said while nodding approvingly to herself. "Have you ever told him?"

Now I jumped back, practically becoming plastered to the wall. I never imagined even doing something so ballsy. "N-no! I couldn't!"

She then frowned as she walked forward, looking me straight in the eye. "Well, why not?"

"B-because! All of this fighting and deaths and comas and… and… all this crazy stuff… what… what if…" My true fear then finally came to life. "What if he rejects me, then pushes me away?"

"You never know until you try." Esther shrugged, not seeming to take my fear seriously. "He seems like a nice guy anyway, I doubt he'll just push you away."

"B-but he's so awkward and shy!"

"Girl, tell him. There's no better time like the present. You just told all the other girls how to start on a fresh slate and try to win him over. You never know what they could manage in a month." Esther then pat me on the shoulder. "You're a fighter, I'm sure you can manage a few words."

I looked down and sighed, defeated. "I… I have an idea… but I know I'm going to regret this."

"Go for it, tiger." Esther smiled at me, giving me a playful punch on the shoulder.

"C-can I borrow a pen and paper?" I asked her hesitantly. "I want to write a note."

She then looked at me as if I were nuts. "A _note_? Oh, c'mon! What is this, elementary school?!"

"Please?!" I begged. "I would die if I said anything, trust me!"

"…Okay…"

She handed me a paper and pen and I began scribbling down words mindlessly, trying not to focus so much on it so I wouldn't crumble it and throw it away. I finished and slipped it into my back pocket. I then gave her a small bow. "Thank you for the shove. I wouldn't be walking into suicide right now if it wasn't for you." I gave her the cheekiest smile I could manage over all my embarrassment.

She laughed heartily and held out a hand. "Friends?"

"Hell yeah."

…

The rest of the day passed painfully slowly as I waited, and Rock and I were now walking home. I kept looking at him from the corner of my eye, trying to muster the courage for my big move. After a while of fidgeting around, garnering several quirked eyebrows from Rock, I finally decided… it was now or never.

"R-Rock… could you hang on a moment?"

The blond stopped in his tracks, looking back at me, honestly confused. "Sure. What's up?"

"I… I have something I want to give you. C'mere a sec." I waved him over with a hand.

He complied, walking over to me. "What is it?"

I quickly dug in my back pocket and pulled out the note, grabbing one of his hands and placing it in his palms, then pulling his fingers close to make a fist. "H-here!" And the moment I would probably regret was now upon me. As quick as I could, I tip toed and planted a quick, light peck on his lips before running like the wind.

My heart was beating so fast, I thought I was going to die. I started rushing off towards where we lived through an alternate route, not looking back. I noticed someone coming into my view, so I started to slow down, so I wouldn't run into them, but I couldn't believe who it was.

"Mademoiselle Walker…" Ash Crimson of all people begun. "I've been looking for you."

"And I was just leaving. Bye."

I tried to rush off, but the cinereous haired young man stopped me by blocking my way. "Please, just hear me out."

Originally, I didn't want to, but I complied. I don't know why. "Just make it quick."

"I have a way to prove my innocence. Here." Ash held out a white envelope sealed with a red wax "R". "It's an invitation to the next King of Fighters tournament. Everything will be answered there."

"Is that all?" I questioned, a hand now on my hip.

"Yes. All the information is in the letter. For now, I must depart. Adieu." And with that, Ash disappeared with his green flames.

I looked at the spot where he was just standing, until a voice brought me back from my reverie. "You… you're friends with that guy?!"

I quickly turned around, spotting Kyo a few steps away. "N-no! He killed my father! How could I be friends with him!"

"I just _saw_ you conversing with him!" Kyo angrily answered. "Is that how he found me and Yuki?!"

"No-" I stopped and thought. I remembered when we were friends, and I sent him a picture Shingo snapped for me in front of his house. I covered my mouth with my hands. "No… No! That… that couldn't have been my fault! No!"

"It is… isn't it?" Kyo asked, looking at me with a solemn expression. I couldn't answer. He just merely put his head down and walked away.

It was safe to say I felt like crap.

I walked back home, defeated. I removed my shoes and waved at Terry. "Hey pops…"

"Hey… what's wrong? Was it a bad day? And where's Rock?" Terry questioned all at once, looking concerned.

"Nothing really, just lost a friend… School was okay and Rock and I separated at some point. I'm sure he'll be here soon…" I dropped my bag on the floor and trudged towards my bed, flopping down on it. I let out a heavy sigh, feeling guilty about Yuki's attack. The only minor consolation was that she was recovering.

Not too long after starting my pity party, the door opened, and I could hear Rock greeting Terry and asking my whereabouts. Moments later, Rock was in the room, rubbing the back of his head gingerly. "Sam… I wanted to ask you… do you think I'm terrible at math and needed a consolation?"

"…What?" I sat up now, looking at Rock as if he just spewed something crazy. Well, actually, he really did do just that.

"I-I mean… you give me this note, then kiss me and run off… when I looked inside…" He then handed me the paper, and just what he was speaking of, it was calculus notes. "There's all this math work."

"Oh, geeze!" I crumbled the paper and tossed it somewhere in the room. "You see, what happened is… I basically told Esther that I really like you, but I didn't want you to push me away if you completely rejected me, but she really thought I should tell you… so I figured I should just write it on a note and hand it to you, but it seemed that Esther really wanted me to say it with my mouth, so she probably switched the note! She really wants me to embarrass myself by admitting it, but I wouldn't want to-"

"You just did."

"Wait…what?" I was now confused, after my quick speaking was cut off. "What did I just…"

"You just said you told Esther that you…you…" Rock hesitated, clearing his throat. "You… like… me…"

I blinked, staring at him while trying to process his words. Then it hit me. I really _did_ just say it. That damned one person pity party had thrown me off, and I just openly admitted everything, even what I feared from saying it. "Oh…" I slowly slinked towards the window, staring out of it. "I think I should really go die now…" I was half joking, but with how embarrassed I was, I could have been half way serious.

"Nonono…" Rock grabbed my wrist and pulled me back towards the middle of the room, holding on to my shoulders. "W-well… you see…" He sucked in a deep breath before starting to speak again. "I'm sure that I really like you too… but… I'm not used to all this… I haven't really spent so much time with a girl, so I'm not even sure what I'm doing… hell, I feel like I'm saying too much."

"It's the same on my part, really… which is why I didn't want to tell you… I did have one _boyfriend_ at twelve. But all we did was wrestle and eventually, I scared him away…" I let out a forlorn sigh. "So this is really…" Then it finally sunk in. The extent of what he said. "W-wait! Y-you feel the same way?!"

"Are you _really_ going to make me repeat it?" Rock asked, a look of mild distress on his face.

"N-no! That's fine! I just… I… don't know what to say… or how to react… Or anything really. I kind of just want to drop to the floor right now." I admitted shyly.

"Don't… don't do that. That will probably make things much more awkward."

I then fiddled with my fingers. "I know there's a lot going on right now… training… people in comas… apparently the King of Fighters tournament… and it could become a distraction… but does this mean… we… you know… _us_?" I couldn't even get out the right words. I couldn't even believe what was happening.

"I guess so…" Rock placed a gloved arm behind his neck, looking away nervously.

"…I swear, if you or Terry scream psych, or I wake up right now…"

Rock laughed lightly. "It's not a dream or a prank. Promise."

I let out a light laugh myself before inching in for another peck, this time lasting for more than .0025 seconds. I then nervously reached for a hug, embarrassed to look at Rock in the eyes suddenly. "U-um… can I… we… wait a little bit before telling Terry?"

"Hmm?"

"I just need a little time to prepare myself mentally before getting teased to high heaven by him."

"No need." Terry's voice echoed from the living room.

I slowly turned to the door way to see him sitting at the table, waving. I quickly pulled away from the hug I started. "H-how long…"

"The whole time. Best seat in the house too!" Terry had a large grin plastered on his face.

I let out a groan. "That window is looking pretty tempting right now…

"Absolutely not." Both Rock and Terry answered simultaneously.

At the moment, I forgot about the invitation sitting in my book bag. But I had time to deal with that the day after. My mood was picked up again, despite feeling all sorts of awkward. But it was the kind of awkward I could indulge in. An awkward, blooming relationship.

I have to say, I must have felt like the luckiest girl alive.

_End Chapter 11: No Time Like The Present_

This chapter is kinda long, but it's to finally get the sidetracking out of the way, and back to the action. This is going to feel a little weird, writing the two officially as a couple, especially with how awkward it's going to start off, but I hope everything continues smoothly.

Random note as well: I know it was insane to give Sam a specific time that it happened, but she was kicked out of her home on January 27th. It is now June 4th when this chapter begins .

Do review to let me know how I'm doing, what you like and what you don't like, if you can! I would appreciate it greatly!

Until chapter 12!


	15. Announcement:End

Hello! I'm here to regretfully inform anyone who actually still keeps up with this (if there is anyone) that I'm dropping this and not finishing.

I read through the entire fic recently and felt really unsatisfied. I really derailed to a point where I didn't like it anymore.

But that doesn't mean I'm giving up entirely! I'm working through new ideas to give it another whirl, but this time strictly as comedy with maybe subtle romantic hints because within the context of the story, those can be mighty awkward and extremely fun to orchestrate.

For now, I'd like to thank those who read, those who reviewed, and those who spotted me outside of ffn and complimented this crazyness (like on dA)- you all made the adventure worthwhile.

Hope to see some of you reading the newer version, which will be posted in a different pen name. For those I won't see again, ciao, and thanks again!

-The Painted Skies


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